Medic assaulted inside ambulance after bakkie crashes into house

A paramedic driving an ambulance was attacked by a passenger as they transported an injured motorist to hospital in the North West.

The incident unfolded after ER24 personnel were called to the scene of an accident in Potchefstroom on Monday, where a bakkie had ploughed through a fence and crashed into the kitchen of a house.

The driver, who was in his 20s, was found lying trapped inside the vehicle and the fire department had to stabilise the property before he could he extricated.

"While on the way to hospital, the father of the patient, who was in the front passenger seat of the ambulance, without warning punched the ER24 medic in the face and immediately attempted to grab the steering wheel," said ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring in a statement.

"Using the situational and self-awareness training received from ER24, the medic was able to defend himself from further attacks by managing to pull the vehicle over safely and remove himself from the situation.

"Shortly after climbing out the ambulance, the assailant climbed into a bakkie that had been following the ambulance to hospital, and left the scene," he said.

The injured patient was handed over to staff at a private hospital and the medic was assessed by a doctor before reporting the incident to police.

Ambulance crews have frequently fallen prey to attacks by criminal elements in various parts of the country.

Panic buttons and police escorts are being rolled out to protect emergency workers in Johannesburg, after an ambulance crew and fire fighters came under attack.