Durban - A passenger travelling in a minibus taxi on the M4 Southern Freeway was seriously injured after a steel object allegedly flew off a truck and pierced the windscreen on Thursday.
ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said the accident occurred on the M4 Durban bound, near Quality Street, just after 10am.
Jamieson said that when paramedics arrived at the scene, they found what was believed to be a freak accident.
“A taxi had been travelling on the southbound carriageway when it is believed that a metal object flew off a truck and pierced the windscreen of the taxi,” he said.
He said a male passenger in the front seat of the taxi, who is believed to be in his thirties, sustained serious injuries.
“(He) was stabilised on the scene by Advanced Life Support Paramedics before being transported to a nearby Durban hospital for the urgent care he required.”
Jamison said the SAPS was at the scene and would be investigating further.
Earlier this week, IOL reported that 15 people, including two infants, were killed in what has been described as a freak accident along the N9 road in Middelburg, Eastern Cape on Sunday at around 11pm.
The Eastern Cape Transport Department confirmed that all the occupants of the minibus taxi were killed.
“It is alleged that a heavy-duty truck hit a stray animal and the driver lost control. As the driver was trying to regain control, its trailer gave in and fell over, right at that moment a fully loaded taxi was parallel to it, driving in the opposite direction,” the department said.