A 14-year-old girl is in a critical condition at Mediclinic Pietermaritzburg, after a truck crashed into her father’s car on the N3 near Ashburton on Tuesday morning.
The teenager was on her way to school, at The Wykeham Collegiate, when the accident occurred at 6.45 am.
Sources at the scene said the truck and trailer, which was travelling on the southbound carriageway, crossed the centre median, hitting a silver Suzuki, before coming to rest at the bottom of an embankment.
Gavin Botha, manager for KwaZulu-Natal Private Ambulance, said the South African Police Service search and rescue team used manual extrication tools to remove the teenager from the crumpled remains of the Suzuki.
His paramedic team then immobilised her spine and placed her on a ventilator with the help of advanced life support paramedics from ER24. She was then rushed to Mediclinic.
The teenager’s 44-year-old father and the driver of the truck both suffered injuries in the crash and were taken to hospital after being stabilised at the scene.
A case of reckless and negligent driving has been opened by the police.
