Update: Pedestrian apparently the cause of R21 accident

Update

A pedestrian running across the highway was apparently the cause of Saturday’s crash on the R21 north which claimed the lives of two people, reports the Kempton Express.

The road was still closed at around 6pm on Saturday evening, causing huge traffic delays.

According to Russel Meiring, spokesperson for ER24, it was understood that a truck driver swerved to avoid a pedestrian running across the road. This caused the truck to jump the centre median and veer into oncoming traffic.

Two people have been killed and seven others injured in the multiple-vehicle collision involving two trucks and three cars.

Meiring said ER24 paramedics, along with several other services, arrived on the scene to find that two large trucks and three light motor vehicles had collided. All five vehicles had been spread across the entire highway.

Local law enforcement began to divert traffic while paramedics assessed the situation.

Upon closer inspection, paramedics found that a man in a light motor vehicle and an elderly woman in the another vehicle had both sustained fatal injuries.

According to reports, the deceased man was in a bakkie trapped between the two trucks.

“Seven other patients were found on the scene. Paramedics assessed the patients and found their injuries ranged from minor to moderate,” Meiring said.

The patients were treated for their injuries and were transported to various hospitals for further treatment.

Local authorities were on the scene for further investigations.

Earlier

Traffic on the R21 near the OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park is at a standstill on Saturday afternoon after a serious collision involving two trucks and five other vehicles.

According to the Kempton Express, two people were killed in the collision. JacarandaFM further reported that the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services confirmed that three other people sustained minor injuries and were transported to hospital.

JacarandaFM further reports that the R21 had been closed off between the Atlas Road offramp and the offramp to the airport and according to the Kempton Express, the highway had been closed off just after the Voortrekker Road offramp.

Traffic bureaus as well as frustrated motorists took to Twitter to share their photographs and information on the crash and delays.