Undocumented Zimbabwean truck driver arrested after pile-up on the N3 highway near Mariannhill
A second multiple vehicle crash on the N3 highway on Thursday has led to the arrest of an undocumented Zimbabwean truck driver.
Image: ALS Paramedics / Facebook
An undocumented Zimbabwean truck driver has been arrested after a multiple-vehicle crash on the N3 Durban-bound before the Mariannhill Toll Plaza on Thursday.
The arrest took place after his truck plunged into four trucks and a Polo during the collision just after noon. This was the second crash in the vicinity.
Earlier in the day, just after 11am, ALS Paramedics responded to the first serious crash on the same stretch of road.
According to ALS Paramedics in the first accident, a truck with a trailer “had failed to stop and attempted to avoid vehicles and went up the bank; however, its trailer overturned onto a vehicle and a fully laden taxi.”
Eleven people sustained various injuries. ALS Paramedics reported that once the injured were stabilised on scene, they were transported to various Durban hospitals for further care.
ALS Paramedics said it also attended a second multiple truck crash in the backlog caused by the earlier accident. They reported that “most of the highway [was] obstructed by trucks involved in the crash.”
Four trucks and a vehicle were involved, leaving five people injured. The injured were stabilised and taken to nearby hospitals.
It was after this second crash that the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) arrested the Zimbabwean truck driver, who was found to be undocumented.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma called for the trucking company responsible to account for employing him without documents. “We want the owner of the truck to come forward. It is illegal to employ a foreign truck driver without the necessary documents,” Duma said.
The cause of the crashes will be investigated by the RTI and police.