Wet-weather driver chaos
Joburg metro police cautioned motorists as roads abrupted into chaos due to heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours.
|||Johannesburg - Gauteng roads were in chaos this morning as motorists grappled with the result of more than 100mm of rain falling in the past 24 hours.
Flooded roads, fallen trees and accidents left motorists frustrated, with some obliged to wait hours to get to work.
Tshwane emergency medical services said at least two cars were swept away while trying to cross the same low-lying bridge in Centurion on Thursday morning.
Paramedics at the scene said they reached one vehicle but it was too dangerous to get to the other because of the strong current. It was unclear whether anyone was in the vehicle as only the roof could be seen.
Rescuers were still on the scene this morning.
Also in Centurion on Thursday morning, a bizarre accident involving two cars and a truck on the N1 near Botha Avenue left motorists aghast as one of the vehicles ended up balanced on the barrier between the two sides of the highway.
According to Emer-G-Med spokesman Maxwell Cohen, miraculously no one was injured in the crash.
On Wednesday, a taxi accident in Sandton left four people injured with the driver of the taxi in a serious condition.
“The taxi driver suffered serious injuries to his lower limbs and required advanced life support care,” Cohen said, adding that the other three patients suffered moderate injuries.
On Thursday a 14-year-old schoolboy was critically injured when he was hit by a taxi in Louis Botha Avenue, Houghton.
“Netcare 911 paramedics managed to stabilise the boy, who was critically injured,” said Netcare 911 spokesperson Athlenda Mathe.
The boy was taken to hospital.
In Rivonia on Thursday morning, 11 people were injured after a taxi rear-ended a truck on the N1 highway.
According to ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring, ER24 paramedics and provincial services arrived at the scene to find both vehicles in the slow lane of the highway.
Meiring said although the cause of the accident hadn't yet been determined, the wet weather could have been a factor.
Early Wednesday night, one person was killed and five others injured after a truck overturned on the N14 in Lanseria.
Cohen said that on arrival paramedics found the truck lying on its roof, leaving the three occupants trapped in the cabin.
“Sadly one of the trapped occupants had sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead on the scene.”
He said the two others were carefully extricated from the wreckage using the Jaws of Life and other rescue equipment.
Motorists complained bitterly as parts of Braamfontein, the M1 highway, Katlehong and the R25 in Kaalfontein were flooded, forcing them to find alternative routes, most of which were backed up because of the wet weather and overcrowding of cars.
Several roads were partially obstructed due to fallen trees. This included Oxford Road and the M1 South, both of which are already dealing with obstructions due to the M1 Rehab project.
Joburg metro police department spokesman Superintendent Wayne Minnaar asked motorists to keep a safe following distance and have their headlights on at all times.
The South African Weather Service issued a warning for heavy rain and localised flooding in Gauteng over on Thursday. The warning is also for southern and high-lying areas of Limpopo.
Forecaster Vanetia Thakula said rain could also be expected in many areas that had been severely affected by drought - including parts of Mpumalanga, northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal and south-western parts of North West - into the weekend. Wet weather will persist in Gauteng into the first half of next week, but rainfall might decrease.
ilanit.chernick@inl.co.za
@Lanc_02
karishma.dipa@inl.co.za
@Karishma_Dipa
The Star