A hydraulic-extrication rescue tool was used to free two occupants that were trapped in a bakkie that was involved in a terrifying accident with a Toyota minibus taxi early this morning (18/08) near the Hi-Way shopping centre in Bloemfontein.
The accident occurred at about 07:34 on the Dewetsdorp road (R702), which is one of the routes with a high traffic volume in Bloemfontein.
Emergency medical rescue teams were at the scene for about an hour attending to injured victims. The road was also closed for this period.
The male taxi driver escaped unharmed, while the three that sustained injuries were rushed to local hospitals in Bloemfontein.
Those taken to hospitals by ambulances include the male driver of the Nissan NP200 and two females, one of them was a passenger in the taxi that crashed into the bakkie. The woman who was a passenger in the taxi sustained injuries to both legs due to the impact of the accident. She was in the front seat with the taxi driver.
The driver of the taxi was heading in the east direction on this road which has two single lanes running in the opposite direction. According to an eyewitness, the driver of the bakkie was trying to make a U-turn when the taxi crashed into it and pushed the bakkie over the edge of the road.
“Though the taxi driver pulled emergency brakes, he could not avoid the accident from happening. I could hear the loud noise of the taxi brakes,” said the eyewitness, an informal trader selling vegetables for a living from a makeshift market along this busy road.
