One dead, close to 30 injured in two taxi accidents

One person has died and almost 30 others have been injured in two separate taxi accidents on Friday night.

In Potchefstroom, a man in his 20s died during a collision between a taxi and a light motor vehicle in Ikageng Road.

ER24 paramedics arrived on the scene at shortly after 19:20, along with local emergency personnel.

“A young man in his 20s who had suffered fatal injuries and showed no signs of life was found in the light motor vehicle. He was unfortunately, declared dead on arrival, said ER24 spokesperson Ross Campbell.

A 32-year-old man was also found trapped in the same vehicle. He has serious injuries and the fire department extracted him from the wreckage. He was taken to Potchefstroom Provincial Hospital for further care, according to Campbell.

Several taxi occupants were treated on the scene – four by ER24 personnel and eight by provincial emergency services officials– and transported to local hospitals.

In another incident on Friday night at around the same time, 15 people had critical to minor injuries after the taxi they were travelling in collided with a delivery truck close to Ladysmith.

The accident took place close to the intersection of the R103 and Harrismith Road.

“All the injured were found to be from the taxi and all were adults. Three passengers were found to have suffered critical injuries, four others moderate injuries and the remainder suffered minor injuries,” Campbell said.

The driver was found in his seat and had to be extracted.

“He had luckily only suffered moderate injuries and was transported through to Ladysmith Provincial Hospital for further care,” Campbell added.

Police officers were at both scenes for further investigations.

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