Durban's M7 Highway Sees Second Major Accident Within 24 Hours

The bustling M7 in Durban is once again the site of harrowing road incidents with a multi-vehicle accident leaving six people injured, coming just under a day after a fatal collision claimed the life of a 36-year-old police officer. In a grim sequence of events, the secondary crash occurred amidst the backlog of traffic due to the ongoing clearance efforts from Wednesday’s deadly scenario.

Emergency services were stretched once more as ALS Paramedics rapid response coordinator Garrith Jamieson reported a chaotic scene involving an array of vehicles comprising six cars and two trucks on Thursday afternoon. Jamieson, narrating Thursday’s events, highlighted the stress on emergency operations, stating, “This collision occurred while there was a build-up of traffic as the recovery from yesterday’s fatal collision was taking place.”

A total of six patients from the smash-up were provided with immediate medical attention and were subsequently transported to various hospitals. Jamieson underlined the dire circumstances as he described the traffic being at a standstill, prompting him to advise motorists to find alternative travel routes to circumvent the gridlock.

The previous day’s incident saw three individuals injured after a truck capsized on the same stretch of road. As the police constable, now confirmed to have been 36 years old, was dealing with the unfolding scene, she was fatally struck by another truck, launching a chain-reaction of destruction. Jamieson, recapping Wednesday’s events, conveyed the sense of devastation, saying, “The truck ploughed into two police vehicles, two trucks, and two civilian vehicles before the truck left the roadway and came to rest down an embankment.”

Fortunately, on this following crash, despite the sheer number of vehicles involved, reports indicate that injuries sustained by the six individuals ranged from moderate to serious, with no fatalities cited at this stage.

The repercussions of these two consecutive days of road tragedies go beyond the immediate traffic disruptions. Provincial police have commenced investigations on the culpable homicide case entrusted to Bellair SAPS as per the details shared by police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala. She unveiled that the officer fatally injured was busy at her duty post when the incident happened and the truck driver, involved in the accident that led to her death, is also receiving medical attention.

The frequency of these severe accidents on the M7 has once again turned the spotlight on road safety protocols and the need for stringent measures to protect both emergency responders and the general public.

Traffic analysts and local authorities are likely to revisit safety strategies and emergency response tactics in light of these tragic events, as part of a broader initiative to prevent such occurrences in the future and ensure the safety of all road users.