Traffic came to a standstill on the M41, before the M4 hair pin bend into uMhlanga, on Monday morning, 6 March, when a truck allegedly suffered brake failure before ploughing into over 40 vehicles ahead coming to a stop, on its side, approximately a kilometre from the accident scene.
A total of 16 people were left with moderate to serious injuries following the horrific accident with a pregnant woman being airlifted from the carnage as emergency services worked on clearing the wreckage during the morning rush-hour traffic, at 7.50am.
A video, which surfaced minutes after the accident, showed more than 50 people on the scene coming to terms with the initial accident as well as trying to pull out survivors from their vehicles. According to officials, it is alleged that the driver lost control of the truck and crashed into multiple vehicles and fled the scene.
Speaking to the Phoenix Tabloid, Metro Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Boysie Zungu confirmed that one truck was responsible for the accident that occurred in uMhlanga.
He said: “The truck driver fled the scene following the accident occurring and Metro police are suspecting that the cause of the accident was due to the truck’s brake failure, however, at this stage investigations are still underway. More than 36 vehicles were involved”.
Advanced Life Support Ambulance and Paramedic Service spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson said upon arriving at the horrific accident, paramedics were met with total chaos.
He said: “A total of 45 vehicles were counted on the M41 that had been severely damaged by this runaway truck, before the truck carried on further down the road and collided with another vehicle where it overturned, coming to rest on its roof. One person was airlifted to a Durban hospital by the Netcare911 helicopter for further treatment.”
Shawn Herbst, Netcare 911 spokesperson, confirmed that their helicopter was activated following the news of the carnage. Reports alleged that a truck driver lost control travelling down the road when he ploughed through morning traffic. On scene with Netcare 911 was Emer-G-Med paramedics, SAPS, Durban Metropolitan SAR, eThekwini Fire and Rescue. Medics assessed the scene and found 22 patients, who had sustained injuries ranging from serious to minor injuries. Many patients had been transported privately prior to the arrival of emergency services,” said.
By 12pm, the roadway had yet to be open to traffic as emergency services continued to investigate and clear the carnage.The SAPS accident unit was on scene investigating the cause of the collision.
Captain Raymond Deokaran spokesperson of Durban North SAPS confirmed that the driver did flee the scene.
“The driver fled the scene and multiple cases have been opened including reckless and negligent driving, fleeing the scene of an accident and failures to ascertain nature of injuries after a collision,” said Cpt Deokaran.
