Durban - “Absolute chaos” is how first responders and rescuers described the crash on the M41 in Durban on Monday involving a truck and 49 vehicles.
Multiple injuries were reported but despite the wreckage, there were no fatalities.
Emer-G-med KZN operations manager Kyle van Reenen said it came as a surprise that there had been no fatalities, judging from the steepness of the hill, the weight carried by the truck and the impact of collisions.
He said it was sometimes difficult to tell the brand of vehicles due to the damage. Van Reenen said the truck driver, Sithulile Zulu, 22, deserved to be commended for saving lives.
“Had he not steered like he did and put his truck into the bush safely, he would have gone over all of those cars that were in the bottleneck and would have ended up in people’s houses. He would have definitely killed people.
“Anybody could have an accident, but his actions afterwards were quite commendable. Yes, he ran away, but under the circumstances, I do not think anyone who has ever had an accident of that magnitude, other than (truck driver) Sanele May, could relate.
“At least he handed himself over and his actions definitely saved more lives than people have given him credit for,” he said. After rushing to the scene, Netcare 911 national spokesperson Shawn Herbst said the sight of total destruction was unbelievable as cars had been ripped apart or compressed into mangled steel.
Herbst said people were shouting and screaming, some crying, while members of the public driving by stopped to assist in getting the victims out of their cars. There were diesel and petrol all over the road as some of the cars’ fuel tanks had been torn open. He added that there was a concern that the vehicles could burst into flames. Herbst said victims sustained various injuries and were treated on the scene before being transported to hospitals in Durban.
eThekwini metro police spokesperson Boysie Zungu said brake failure was the suspected cause of the accident. He said that in his 31 years of police experience this was the worst accident he had seen.
According to Garrith Jamieson, director for ALS paramedics, although the magnitude of the accident was notably large, the worst accident he had witnessed was that of September 5, 2013 on Fields Hill, Pinetown, where Sanele May lost control of his truck and ploughed into several vehicles, killing 24 people. “This was in the same category, but fortunately there were no deaths,” he said.
Gavin Kelly, the Road Freight Association’s (RFA’s) chief executive officer, said the crash was both unacceptable and unnecessary. “Notwithstanding the loss of life, injuries and loss of property, such scenes cannot be allowed to continue. The RFA calls on the relevant local authority to initiate the post-crash investigation as a matter of urgency and to determine what caused the crash,” he said.
“Those transporters (or any road user for that matter) who choose to be non-compliant (eg, roadworthy/dangerous vehicles and/or badly skilled drivers) need to be held liable and culpable. They also need to be removed from the road,” Kelly said. “In addition, the road where the crash occurred was congested for a while – but also damaged. South Africa cannot afford this.”
SUNDAY TRIBUNE