A morning marked by chaos and accidents unfolded on Tuesday, 7 November 2023, as two collisions occurred an hour apart, sending emergency personnel into overdrive to assist over 16 individuals affected by the incidents.
The initial collision transpired shortly after 7 am in Madadeni, near the new bridge located between sections 1, 2, and 3, where two taxis, transporting school children, crashed into each other.
“One of the taxis was turning right coming towards Newcastle when the second taxi driving from Newcastle’s direction allegedly did not stop at the intersection. This resulted in the two vehicles colliding,” said Sifiso Zwane of KwaZulu-Private Ambulance.
A total of 15 schoolchildren and one of the taxi drivers sustained injuries ranging from moderate to severe. Paramedics from KwaZulu Private Ambulance, Magenta Emergency Medical Services, and KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene to attend to the injured victims.
14 of the injured patients were rushed to both Madadeni Provincial Hospital and Mediclinic Newcastle for further treatment. An official source revealed that the parents of two of the children declined the offer to transport their children to the hospital.
As emergency personnel assessed the situation and law enforcement worked to clear the scene, a second collision occurred at the intersection of Victoria Road and Impala Drive shortly after 8 am.
In this incident, a Renault sedan and a Nissan bakkie collided. According to the Renault’s driver, she was driving along Victoria Road and had to slow down at the intersection due to the presence of a bus on the road. She then allegedly slowed down even further to account for the reduced visibility caused by the bus. “As I was crossing the intersection, the bakkie turned, and I tried to brake in time, but we collided.”
The bakkie driver corroborated the account, acknowledging the bus’s presence, which hindered visibility for other motorists and ultimately led to the collision. Fortunately, this incident did not result in any serious injuries.
In the aftermath of these two collisions, emergency personnel are urging the public to exercise caution and remain vigilant about their surroundings.
The incidents have once again raised concerns about road safety and the importance of adhering to traffic regulations. What are your thoughts on the events described above?
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I Live close to this robot.Impala and Victoria.There isn’t a week that there is not a accident here.People ride like maniacs up and down these two roads.Best thing to do is build a couple of speed humps close to the robots to slow traffic.Only time and another person is going to die here.
People in Newcastle are driving lawless. It is because nothing is happening to them. I was involved in a motor accident 3 months ago where the other party skipped a stop, I had right of way. My car was written off, I broke my neck, lots of inconvenience, she only got a R2000 fine despite of driving without a license. Lots of excuses from police on why the case cannot be persuade.