Durban - Three eThekwini Municipality employees were critically hurt when a 17-year-old driver drove into them in Tatford Road, in Phoenix, on Friday.
The driver was allegedly speeding when he failed to negotiate the bend and crashed.
The eThekwini Water Services team was inspecting valves along the verge when the car hit them, ramming them against a brick wall.
The wall collapsed and they landed in the yard of a neighbouring house.
“When we got there, one of the victims had a steel rod piercing his side. It went in one end and out the other. The other two had head and leg injuries,” said KZN VIP Medics paramedic Anneline Hansraj.
Prem Balram, a spokesman for Reaction Unit SA, said the legs of one of the victims were amputated at the hip.
The driver of the vehicle was examined by paramedics, but did not have serious injuries.
KZN SAPS spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said police were investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving.
“The driver hasn’t been arrested yet. We are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash,” said Zwane.
He said the car’s owner could face jail time if found to have allowed an unlicensed driver to drive it.
“We urge all adults, especially the parents, to be careful not to leave their car keys lying about, especially when there are unlicensed drivers in the home,” he said.
KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Rescue Services paramedics were kept busy this weekend with multiple accidents across the province.
Two men died when a car they were in crashed into a tree in Glendale, north-east of Stanger, in the early hours on Saturday.
Another pair died at Craigieburn, on the South Coast, in a two-car crash. Two others were critically injured. One of them had to be freed from the vehicle with the Jaws of Life.
A collision involving two cars in Wembesi, near Escourt, resulted in two fatalities, with six other people being injured.
A passenger died in Manguzi, north of Jozini, in a crash involving a bakkie and a car. Two of the five surviving victims were in a critical condition.
On Sunday, President Jacob Zuma called for caution and strict adherence to the rules by road users after the death of more than 30 people in the Eastern Cape at the weekend.
Twenty-five people were killed and many more were injured when a bus overturned on the R408 between Butterworth and Willowvale.
In another accident, nine people died when a minibus taxi overturned on the R61 between Cradock and Graaff Reinet.
“We mourn the loss of so many. We call on all road users to take extraordinary caution. This senseless loss of life is unacceptable and it is happening more frequently on our roads,” Zuma said.
“Authorities can play their part, but it is mainly up to the drivers to ensure that they adhere to the rules of the road.”
The Mercury