Two Taxi Accidents on 31 December 2009

ER24 attended to two incidents where taxis were involved this morning.

The first incident was on Jip De Jager Road in Welgemoed, where four people sustained moderate injuries when a taxi overturned.

The second incident occurred at the intersection of Hertzog Boulevard and Oswald Pirow Road in Cape Town central. Five people sustained minor to moderate injuries when two taxis collided.

(Archive photos)

Cape Town [Joostenberg Vlakte] Klipheuwel Road on 30 December 2009 at 10h15

Eleven people were injured when three cars, of which one went down an embankment, were involved in an incident on the N1 off-ramp to Klipheuwel Road, near Joostenberg Vlakte.

The patients, including children, were treated for minor to moderate injuries before being transported to various surrounding hospitals for further medical treatment.

The events surrounding the incident are unknown at this stage.

Two taxis overturn in less than two hours - Cape Town

Ten people were injured when a minibus taxi overturned on the R300, near Van Riebeeck Road, in the direction of Mitchells Plain.

The injured sustained minor to moderate injuries and were taken by ER24 and Metro EMS ambulances to Delft Day Hospital and Tygerberg Hospital for further treatment. It is unclear at this stage as to what caused the taxi to overturn.

A second minibus taxi overturned on Francie Van Zijl Road, near Connaught Road, in Parow Valley. This accident occurred less than two hours after the taxi overturning on the R300 and paramedics had just finished handing over the patients at hospital from that incident.

Five people sustained minor to moderate injuries and were taken to various surrounding hospitals. It is alleged that the right rear wheel of the taxi came loose and caused it to overturn.

Cape Town [Khayelitsha] Mew Road on 16 December 2009 at 20h45

Four people died and five others were injured when a Toyota and a VW Jetta collided on Mew Way, near Spine Road, in Khayelitsha.

The four deceased were dead on arrival of emergency services. The five patients were all in a serious condition and were transported to hospital by ER24 and Metro EMS ambulances.

Rescue crews from Metro Rescue and the Fire Department had to use hydraulic rescue equipment to extricate some of the patients from the mangled cars.

Police were in attendance and are investigating the cause of the collision.

Famous Stormer Helps Keep Medicopter Rescue Crews Sharp

Famous Stormer full-back, Joe Pietersen, helped the rescue crews of the Surf Rescue Medicopter keep their skills sharp when he volunteered to take part in a rescue simulation at Big Bay.

Joe, the simulated patient, was taken out by the inshore rescue boat of the Big Bay Surf Lifesaving Club and dropped around a 150m offshore. The Medicopter then took off from the heli pad at Big Bay, where it had landed earlier in the day after finishing a beach patrol.

His Stormer teammates looked on from the beach as the rescue simulation took place. The public were also quite keen to see the Medicopter in action, with Joe as the simulated patient. After the textbook rescue simulation was completed, the crew of the Medicopter thanked Joe for his willingness in helping them keep their skills sharp, before flying off on another beach patrol.

For anybody interested in seeing the Medicopter in action, there will be a rescue demonstration at Big Bay on Friday 18 December at 11h00.

Cape Town [Bloekombos] Old Paarl Road on 16 December 2009 at 08h10

Two people died and twelve others were injured when a taxi overturned on Old Paarl Road in Bloekombos.

When paramedics arrived on the scene, they found multiple people scattered around the taxi, of which two were dead on arrival. Two other patients were in a serious condition and the remaining ten patients sustained minor to moderate injuries.

The patients were taken to various surrounding hospitals by ER24 and Metro EMS ambulances for further treatment. The cause of the incident is being investigated by the police.

Witness the Medicopter in Action

ER24, NSRI and Lifesaving Western Province are putting on a rescue demonstration featuring the Sea Rescue Medicopter.

Where: Big Bay, Bloubergstrand (near the surf lifesaving club)
When: Friday, 18 December 2009
Time: 11h00

Each service will be represented at the demonstration and will be on hand to answer any questions.

Cape Town [Faure] R102 on 13 December 2009 at 20h00

Two people died and three others were injured when a car overturned on the R102 in Faure.

On arrival of emergency services, they found a girl, believed to be in her mid teens, lying dead next to the vehicle. A man in his early twenties was found around sixty metres from the vehicle and was also dead on arrival.

A seventeen-year-old boy was found approximately twenty metres from the vehicle in a serious condition, he was taken by ER24 ambulance to Tygerberg Hospital. Another male patient was taken by Metro EMS ambulance to Heldeberg Hospital in a moderate condition. A male patient, who sustained minor injuries, did not go to hospital.

The cause of the incident is unclear but police are investigating the matter.

Only a flight away

The newest addition to the ER24-
Discovery Surf Rescue Medicopter family
went live in Cape Town on the 10th
of December 2009. The Surf Rescue
Medicopter will be used in conjunction
with Lifesaving Western Province
(LWP) and the National Sea Rescue
Institute (NSRI), to enhance
their existing surf
rescue operations in the
Western Cape over the
busy festive season.

The Surf Rescue Medicopter
is crewed by a Base4 pilot,
an ER24 medic, a NSRI paterrer and
a LWP swimmer.
The core focus of their operations is
divided into three main parts (patrol,
rescue and search). They will be patrolling
the coastline on the lookout for
bathers and craft in distress, performing
rescues by deploying appropriate resources
from the Surf Rescue Medicopter
in surf related emergencies, and providing
an aerial view during surf related
search operations.

On the day of the launch, a crowd
gathered at Melkbosstrand beach as
the crews of the Surf Rescue Medicopter
performed a demonstration
of their skills. After the Surf Rescue
Medicopter landed and shut
down, the public took the opportunity
to take photos next to the impressively
branded helicopter.

A basic overview of how the crew
function as a team during a rescue
operation; the pilot will position the
helicopter near the patient, the rescue
swimmer then jumps from the
helicopter with a torpedo buoy, harness
and strop, and
then rescues the patient.
The patterer
then drops the static
line down for the
rescue swimmer to attach himself
and the patient. The patterer is the
“pilot’s eyes” when the helicopter is
hovering over the rescuer and gives
the pilot directions on how to move
the helicopter in regards to the
swimmer below. The helicopter then
lifts the rescuer and patient out the
water and fly to the beach, where
they are then lowered down. The
medic will then initiate medical
treatment if required.

The Surf Rescue Medicopter will
also be deployed along the Hibiscus
Coast.
Numerous rescue simulations will
take place during the course of the
day. The Surf Rescue Medicopter
will also land at strategic places during
the day where the public can
view the helicopter along with the
MGSU (Medicopter Ground Support
Unit) operated by Tristan Wadeley
in the Cape Region.
The Surf Rescue Medicopter will
also standing by at the BMW Polo
on the 29th of December in Kurland.
Another exciting event is the
“Sabrina Love Ocean” Challenge in
Plettenburg Bay on the 27 and 28th
of December. Full emergency medical
services will be provided by the
Surf Rescue and MGSU at these
events.

For any further media information
regarding the Surf Rescue Medicopter,
please contact Tristan Wadeley
on 084 211 2277.
Tristan Wadeley - MGSU Cape Town