HAZYVIEW – With heavy rain falling, a bus carrying passengers careened through the R40 T-junction and overturned at 17:30 yesterday, December 30.
The scene was chaotic with 30 commuters lying or sitting on the road with injuries ranging from serious to minor. PRU (Paramedic Response Unit) was the first to arrive on the scene, stabilising patients and dispatching the traffic department, State EMS, NetCare 911, ER24 and the fire department.
“Five bus passengers were seriously injured and viewed as priority one cases,” said Mr Marius van Standen, PRU “That means they had injuries which were life threatening and/or may include limb amputations. The remainder of the patients fell into category two, requiring urgent hospitalisation and category three requiring medical attention for minor cuts and bruises. The patients were all transported by road to various state hospitals in the vicinity.”
According to Const. S.P. Masima, of the SAPS Nelspruit Criminal Investigation Unit the bus overturned as it rounded the corner in the intersection.
“The driver, Mr Venter Mashego, said that the money and ticket box had rolled under the brake pedal,” said Masima. “That is why he could not use the vehicles brakes to slow down as he approached the T-junction.”
The bus belonging to GN Transport was eventually removed by Van Wettens tow-in service.
