One person died, another sustained a critical injury and a third person moderate injuries following a head-on collision on the N7 highway on Thursday last week.
News of the accident was shared on the Taurus Medical Film and Sports Medics social media page. The accident was also included on the radio traffic updates on the day.
Traffic was backed up as a result and motorists were advised to use alternative routes. A photo was also uploaded on social media in which the horrific scenes were captured. Two vehicles, with significant damage to both, can be seen next to the road towards the Bosmansdam Road-bridge.
The accident, which apparently involved a pedestrian crossing the national road, has sparked renewed concerns for safety along this stretch of road.
Witness
Parklands resident Jacky Crawford, who carpools every day from Melkbosstrand and who travels this route, told the newspaper that pedestrians crossing the road here is a huge issue.
“The sad fact is some of them jump in front of the cars on purpose so that they can claim from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and driver. That was the case with us. Fortunately, a gentleman working for RAF saw the whole accident, and knew the guy did it on purpose,” she said.
Crawford shared her thoughts about last week’s accident on her social media page.
“Where do we start? I am writing to the City of Cape Town today with hope that we can find a resolution to an ongoing concern regarding pedestrians crossing of major national roads including the N7. It has been years that we have allowed pedestrians to cross these major national roads, and several lives have been lost.
“On Thursday we all witnessed the most tragic accident whereby a driver had to swerve out once again for a pedestrian resulting in a fatal head-on collision with another vehicle; this should not have happened,” she commented.
She referred to their own experience.
“We also had the unfortunate accident in 2023 when a pedestrian ran in front of our car. We unfortunately could not avoid hitting him; again this should not have happened.
“How many more tragic accidents must occur and lives lost be before something is done?”
Help
Ineke van Huyssteen, spokesperson for ER24, confirmed that their ambulance services had responded to a vehicle collision on Thursday afternoon on the N7 last week.
“When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene shortly before 17:00, they found two vehicles in the same lane with extensive damage to the front portion of the vehicles.
“Upon further assessment, a male patient was found inside one of the vehicles in a critical condition. Despite the best efforts of all involved, the man succumbed to his injuries a short while later and was declared deceased on the scene. ER24 treated a female patient who had sustained moderate injuries before transporting her to hospital for further medical care.
“A third patient was found to be in a critical condition and was transported by another medical service on the scene to the hospital,” Van Huyssteen says.
The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are not known to paramedics, but local authorities were on the scene for further investigations, she says.
Crawford says something needs to be done regarding pedestrians crossing the national roads
