Accidents

Rescuers free critically injured driver from overturned truck

KwaZulu-Natal: At 20H23 Thursday night Netcare 911 responded to reports of a collision on the M4 in La Mercy North of Durban.

Reports from the scene indicate that the driver of a heavy motor vehicle lost control resulting in the truck rolling down an embankment.

injured driver

When medics arrived on scene they found a driver an adult male who was also the only occupant; entrapped in the cab under the trailer.

injured driver

Netcare 911 Emergency Care Practitioners managed to gain just enough access to treat the patient under very cramped and difficult circumstances.

injured driver

Standard hydraulic rescue tools were used to remove sharp metal around the driver however more advanced heavy-duty hydraulic equipment was needed to free the man who had been entrapped for over an hour.

Once the Ethekwini Fire and Rescue Services and a Netcare 911 Rescue Technician managed to free the driver a rope rescue system was used with a specialised stretcher to haul the patient up a steep embankment back to the roadside.

injured driver

Once stabilised the critically injured patient was airlifted by an awaiting Netcare 911 helicopter ambulance to a specialist facility.

Circumstances leading up to the incident will be investigated by the relevant authorities.

Shawn Herbst
Media Liaison Officer
Netcare Limited
Netcare 911
Suite 102, 1st Floor
Umhlanga Medical Centre
321 Umhlanga Rocks Drive
Umhlanga Ridge
4320
South Africa
GPS Co-ordinates: S25°59’40.14’ E28°7”14.859’

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