Two men in their 20s died, while a third who had been critically injured succumbed to his injuries in hospital following a devastating single-vehicle crash on the M4 Durban-bound near Walter Gilbert Road on Saturday.
The crash, which claimed three lives in total, also left two other young occupants seriously injured.
ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said emergency teams arrived to find a scene of devastation, with a vehicle carrying five occupants that had allegedly lost control and collided with a tree in the centre median.
“Paramedics assessed the scene and found that the driver and front seat passenger were severely entrapped in the wreckage. The two men had sustained major injuries and were unfortunately declared deceased on the scene.Three other occupants, also believed to be in their 20s, sustained serious to critical injuries. One of them, who had been placed on a ventilator due to the severity of his condition, later died in hospital, bringing the death toll to three,” said Jamieson .
He said that Advanced Life Support paramedics worked alongside the eThekwini Fire Department, and had to used the Jaws of Life to free the entrapped victims from the mangled vehicle before the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.
“At this stage, the events leading up to the crash remained unknown,” Jamieson added.
SAPS and Metro Police attended the scene and opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision.
The tragic incident once again highlighted concerns over road safety on major Durban routes, with families left mourning yet another loss on the city’s roads.
