Durban — KwaZulu-Natal police are investigating a case of culpable homicide after three people were killed after a taxi crashed down a bank near the Sani Pass border recently.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said Himeville police opened a case of culpable homicide after three people died at an accident scene on December 23 on Sani Pass Road.
On Monday, Mountain Club of SA - Search and Rescue said members of its KZN rescue team in Underberg and several emergency services responded to a serious taxi accident on the Sani Pass Border Post road. It appeared a full taxi with 15 occupants left the gravel road, rolled down a steep embankment, and came to rest in a shallow riverbed.
Mountain Club of SA said that multiple occupants were injured, and a triage system was employed to prioritise the treatment and movement of the patients.
“Of the critically injured patients, three patients were hauled back up to the road in stretchers using a rope system anchored off emergency vehicles,” Mountain Club of SA said.
It said that with paramedics focusing on treating and assisting the seriously injured patients, bystanders (some on holiday) stopped and assisted less seriously injured patients back up on foot to the road, where ambulances were waiting to take them to the hospital.
“Given the nature of the terrain, the accident could have been a lot more serious, but tragically, three patients had succumbed to their injuries, and their bodies had to be recovered,” Mountain Club of SA said.
On Friday night, Underberg Emergency Medical Services (UEMS) spokesperson Kate Bodmann said that at 12.30pm, UEMS was contacted for a serious taxi accident along the Sani Pass Road. Reports from the scene indicated the crash took place 2kms through the South African Sani Pass Border Post.
Bodmann said that on arrival, UEMS paramedics found a fully-laden taxi (4x4 Toyota taxis) that had left the roadway, rolling down a 90-degree embankment coming to rest 250 metres from the roadway in a shallow riverbed. Due to the steepness of the embankment, paramedics made their way up the road to find a safe place to walk down into the valley.
“When UEMS paramedics arrived at the vehicle, they began triaging the patients. A total of twelve patients sustained moderate to serious injuries. Three of the patients sustained critical injuries and required advanced life support intervention. Unfortunately, three patients had succumbed to their injuries before EMS arrival,” Bodmann said.
She said that due to the location of the incident, Southern Drakensberg Mountain Rescue was contacted.
“A hoist system was set up at the top of the embankment, where patients were placed on a specialised stretcher and hoisted up to awaiting ambulances,” Bodmann said.
She said the patients were transported to a nearby hospital for further medical treatment.
Daily News