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ALBERTON, Gauteng - A series of horror crashes have claimed the lives of several children and injured dozens in South Africa.
Two people, including a child, were killed when a taxi transporting school children overturned on the R101 in the north of Pretoria on Tuesday (Feb 3) morning, said paramedics.
The taxi driver and child were declared dead on the scene. Thirteen
children were injured while five others were in a serious condition. The
children were treated on the scene before being transported to nearby
hospitals.
'TAXI HIT A BRIDGE'
Tshwane emergency services spokesman Johan Pieterse said: "The taxi apparently hit a bridge and overturned."
ER24 reports: "On inspection, paramedics discovered two lifeless bodies lying roughly ten metres away from the taxi. Paramedics assessed the two patients, an adult male and 16-year-old-girl, and found that they had sustained fatal injuries after being ejected from the vehicle."
The crash was the fifth reported crash involving groups of children in the last two weeks.
BAKKIE CRASH INJURES 13 CHILDREN
Thirteen children were injured when the Toyota Condor in which they were travelling collided with a truck on the N3 in Alberton on Monday (Feb 2), report paramedics.
The Condor was travelling towards Leondale when it and an articulated truck collided on Heidelberg Road.
ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said paramedics found 13 injured children, one of them was critically hurt.
MINOR TO MODERATE INJURIES
Meiring said: "Paramedics discovered that 12 children had sustained injuries ranging from minor to moderate. Another child lay trapped in the front of the vehicle and was found to be 'critical'." Hydraulic shears were used to extricate the child.
"Once freed, paramedics provided the patient with advanced life support while other paramedics treated the remaining patients."
CHILD SLAUGHTER ON SA'S ROADS
The crash in Alberton follows another in Pietermaritzburg that claimed the lives of seven children. The driver of an overloaded bakkie crashed into a house, collapsing part of the structure.
On Jan 30, Wheels24 reported that eight children were injured when an out-of-control car pushed two other vehicles into them outside their school in Reservoir Hills, Durban.
VIDEO: Bakkie-crash fatalities rears its ugly head
On Jan 29, 22 children were injured, five of them seriously, when a bus and minibus collided in Unlazi. Hydraulic shears were used to free the critically injured minibus driver from the wreck.
Click here to read our breakdown on crashes since October 2014.
What do you think should be done to curb children dying and being seriously injured on our roads? Email us and we'll publish your thoughts on Wheels24.
