An Amanzimtoti paramedic responding to the unrest on the M35 in Folweni took the brunt of a bottle thrown through his front passenger window when it hit the side of his face this afternoon (Tuesday, 19 April).
Read also: [PHOTOS] Folweni unrest flares
Netcare 911’s Chris Botha was driving on the M35 between the wholesaler and the police station at about 2.50pm, after paramedics had been called out about a patient who had sustained burns in an alleged petrol bombing incident in the vicinity.
A visibly shaken Botha was still removing shards of glass from his hair as he recounted the drama to the Sun afterwards. “Just before the police station, the road was obstructed with burning tyres. Thick smoke obscured my view but I could see SAPS and public order policing unit members standing at the roadside, motioning for me to come through. As I approached the tyres, all hell broke loose. People started popping up from behind a roadside bush and lobbed bottles and tennis ball-sized stones at my car.”
Read also: Close call for paramedic
People started popping up from behind a roadside bush and lobbed bottles and tennis ball-sized stones at my car.
Botha’s branded emergency response vehicle was pelted, and the front passenger side window shattered under the impact of a bottle, despite being protected by smash and grab film. “That’s how close it was thrown from,” he added. The side and front of his vehicle were pockmarked by the stones that rained down and glass littered both front seats. Fortunately he had no passengers with him. He raced away towards Folweni police station, where he stopped to assess the damage to his car and confer with police.
A taxi that had just passed through before him was not targeted. “Other emergency response vehicles had made it through unscathed about 20 minutes before and had stopped at police station to enquire about the patient,” said Botha. They later learned that the patient was removed for treatment in a private vehicle.
Other emergency response vehicles had made it through unscathed about 20 minutes before
Botha, whose emergency services experience spans about 40 years, rates today’s stoning among the most volatile incidents he has faced. “I have to ask – why throw stones at medical vehicles that are coming in to help you?” he questioned. “Frighteningly, it quickly dawned on me afterwards that they could’ve used a gun.”
Police have sent the beer bottle for forensic examination.
