Tragedy struck on the Phoenix Highway near Industrial Park Drive, on Tuesday morning, after a car crash culminated in a fatality and several injuries.
Phoenix Highway car crash: Here are the latest updates
KZNVIP Medics rushed to the scene after receiving multiple calls from concerned motorists.
Upon arrival, efforts to stabilise the patients produced mixed results, as several patients were treated on scene and rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency life-saving treatment, but the chaos of the incident was palpable.
One of the victims, a man who was ejected from the vehicle upon impact, sadly died on the way to hospital.
Details about the incident were still trickling in when this article was published. However, early indications suggest the victim was not strapped with a seatbelt when the accident occurred.
Seatbelt safety is not a myth
This dire incident throws a spotlight on the critical issue of seatbelt safety.
A shocking revelation from South Africa’s road safety data reveals that only about 40% of South Africans regularly wear their seat belts.
This low compliance rate is alarming, especially when considering that passengers unrestrained by seat belts are thrice as likely to suffer serious injuries or fatalities in an accident.
Despite the proven effectiveness of seat belts in reducing the risk of death in road accidents by up to 72%, there’s a noticeable laxity in their usage, particularly among light vehicle passengers and, even more so, within the commercial transport sector like trucks and minibuses.
It’s believed investigations into the fatal Phoenix Highway car crash are still ongoing.