3-month-old baby girl flung from vehicle after fleeing ‘drunk’ driver crashes

A 3-month-old girl was flung from a car when an alleged drunk driver collided head-on with a VW Polo in a one-way street while fleeing another accident scene in Ottawa, Durban on Monday morning.

According to the parents of the baby, they hired the Polo to travel from Inanda to Coniston in Verulam.

While on their way, the driver of a Toyota Corolla collided into the rear of a Hyundai H1 on the corner of Inanda Road and the R102 in Verulam.

Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) received a call following the initial incident. As reaction officers arrived on the scene, the driver of the Toyota sped off and drove against traffic down the R102 towards Ottawa.

Reaction officers tried to intercept the vehicle at the Ottawa intersection, but the driver turned into Tottenham Road. He then tried to overtake three vehicles before crashing into the VW Polo.

Reaction officers found the child lying on the road next to the vehicle. Officers secured the child and called paramedics to the scene.

On arrival, the child, her parents and aunt, who was also in the vehicle, were examined and found to have sustained moderate injuries. Two occupants of the Toyota were also injured.

They were stabilised on the scene before being transported to the hospital by ambulance.

The driver of the Toyota was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and was arrested by reaction officers. A large crowd gathered at the scene and threatened to assault him.

Witnesses also reported that the Toyota knocked down several pedestrians while fleeing the initial collision.

Reaction officers patrolled the route followed by the Toyota Corolla, but no injured pedestrians were found. A Mazda 3 was found on an embankment.

The driver explained that he veered off the road when he noticed the Toyota Corolla speeding towards him on the one-way road.

The driver was taken into custody by the Verulam police.

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