One dead two injured in collision when SUV crashes off Durban freeway onto road below
eThekwini fire crews responded to an SUV accident on the M25 at Avoca when an SUV lost control, killing one and injuring two people on Friday, 26 March 2021 at 08h28am. “Reports indicate that the driver of the SUV with two other occupants seemed to have lost control while driving on the N2 freeway in Avoca, Durban resulting in the vehicle slamming into a concrete safety barrier on the M25 western carriageway under the N2 Bridge. Response included Durban North fire crews with Rescue Pumper 15 and Station Commander Teron Isaac, Leading Fire Fighter Antwyne Magnussen, Senior Fire Fighter Philani Hlengwa and Fire Fighter Renolda Ndlovu (Miss),” said DC Jay Kanniappen, Division Commander North at eThekwini Fire and Rescue Service.
“The operations began by securing the scene in terms of motorist and pedestrian traffic with the aid of Metro Police and SAPS. Once the scene was secure, the vehicle was stabilised using wheel chocks whilst battery terminals were being disconnected. The Code Blue had to be removed using the hydraulic spreaders and cutters. The driver side door was removed first. Two V-shaped incisions were made on the bottom of the “B” post and then the top of the post was cut causing the post to be folded over. These actions gave the crew access to the blue code patient who had to be manoeuvred past the crumpled “a” post and into a body bag.”
“The injuries included:
· 1 blue code (father): severe trauma to the head
· 1 yellow code (mother): abrasions/lacerations
· 1 yellow code (daughter three year’s old): abrasions/lacerations”
“The extrication took place within the space of 30 minutes; however, incident termination was over a period of four hours due to on scene investigation by other services and agencies.”
“The challenges faced were great that first included peak hour pedestrian and motorist traffic that often brought operations to a grinding halt where there were busloads of people stopping with cameras flashing whilst the Code Blue was being removed causing Metro Police and SAPS to be furious and forcefully removing them. The vehicle landed onto a bollard at a 45 degree elevation at the driver side making extrication awkward because of the added height. The bollard was used as an extra step to stand on whilst holding the heavy spreaders and cutters with one crew member at the bottom shouldering the weight of their elevated crew mates. The seatbelt, which had to be cut, also posed as a challenge as it hampered the final packaging of the Code Blue. Immediate onsite crew debriefing began and en-route to station due to the graphic nature of what the crew had witnessed, one them being a female.”
Shawn Herbst of Netcare 911 reported, “Netcare 911 medics assessed the scene and found that the driver, an adult male had sustained fatal injuries and was sadly declared deceased. An adult female and a minor female had sustained moderate injuries and were treated on scene by a private ambulance service. Once stabilised, both patients were transported to hospital for further care.”
Sources: DC Jay Kanniappen, Division Commander North, eThekwini Fire and Rescue Service and Shawn Herbst, Netcare 911