UPDATE: Street recyclers pull victims from burning N12 vehicle
The victims of Saturday’s accident and fire on N12 could have died, had it not been for several street recyclers and at least one motorist.
Four people were injured in the accident, one of them critically, when a truck crashed into a tree and light motor vehicle and burst into flames on the N12 east-bound in Benoni.
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Four injured in N12 accident, truck bursts into flames
ER24 paramedics, along with other services, arrived on the scene to find the truck lying across the three lanes of the highway, fully ablaze.
The truck hit at least one tree on the highway’s embankment.
“A light motor vehicle was found parked a short distance away,” said Russel Meiring, ER24 spokesperson.
“Both of these vehicles had sustained a large amount of damage in the collision.”
Upon closer inspection, paramedics discovered the driver of the truck, a man, lying on the side of the road.
“The driver of the light motor vehicle, as well as two children, were found on the opposite side of the road,” Meiring added.
“Paramedics assessed the patients and found that the truck driver had sustained serious burn wounds to most of his body, leaving him in a critical condition.
“The three other patients were found to have sustained moderate injuries.”
Paramedics treated the patients and provided the critically injured man with advanced life support interventions.
The man was airlifted by the ER24 Oneplan Helicopter to a nearby private hospital for urgent care.
The remaining patients were transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
A member of the community who was on scene shortly after the crash, told the City Times that two or three street recyclers rushed to the aid of a woman and the two children.
The men removed them from the vehicle and took them to the edge of the highway, away from the blaze.
The man, who did not want to be named, said the woman could have died had she not received help as she had burn wounds on her legs.
He said he is not sure if the same men removed the truck driver from the burning vehicle, but he said a motorist also came to the victims’ aid.
The exact cause of the collision is not yet known, but local authorities were on the scene to investigate.
The condition of the victims was not known at the time of publishing.
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