A pregnant woman suffered pelvic and head injuries after a Free State government ambulance that was ferrying her to hospital for the delivery of her baby veered off the road and overturned on Wednesday.
The emergency services vehicle was on its way from Steynsrus to Kroonstad, with the maternity patient on board, when its driver lost control along the R67 road.
Despite sustaining pelvic and head injuries, the woman managed to deliver a baby girl at about 1pm after having been admitted two hours earlier at Boitumelo Hospital in Kroonstad.
“The pregnant woman gave birth normally to a baby girl . . . She is stable and fully conscious,” Free State Department of Health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said.
“She remains under observation at Boitumelo Hospital while the clinical specialist team is determining the next appropriate course of action.”
Initially, Mvambi said the driver of the ambulance had “lost control of the vehicle in a stretch of road where there are road works on the R76 road”.
“It is suspected that water logging on this road could be the source of this unfortunate accident,” he said.
However, in his latest update to the media, the provincial health spokesperson said an investigation had established the ambulance overturned due to a burst tyre.
“The investigation of the accident points to a tyre burst on the right front wheel of the ambulance, leading to the driver losing control of the ambulance which eventually capsized,” Mvambi said.
The driver escaped without any injury, while an accompanying medic sustained a leg fracture and is now admitted at Kroon Hospital in Kroonstad. – Staff Reporter