A Gqeberha woman whose vehicle was involved in a collision with one driven by a member of the Department of Correctional Services in front of St. Albans Prison, says the trauma she had to endure at the hands of four men dressed in correctional services uniforms has left her severely traumatized.
The accident happend on Friday evening, August 18, close to the gates outside the prison.
The resident who wished to remain anonymous, says the treatment she received from the other driver, as well as his colleagues was abusive and caused danger to her health as they tried to physically stop ambulance staff from loading her on a stretcher into the ambulance and taking her to hospital. They allegedly wanted the ambulance to wait for the police to arrive, so that a breathalyzer test could be done on her. “I don’t drink at all and have been driving for more than 25 years and have never been in an accident,” she said.
“I was driving behind him, and as he was about to turn into the Correction Services building. He did not indicate that he was turning, which resulted in the accident,” she told PE Express. “But what has caused me more trauma than the actual accident, is how I was treated afterwards. His and his colleagues (in uniform) started harassing me, calling me all sorts of insults and even refusing to let the paramedics give me medical attention. Those men literally pulled the stretcher out of the ambulance with me on it, calling me a racist and endangering my life,” she continued.
One of the woman’s neighbours came to the scene and pulled out her phone to take videos of what was happening. “They completely lost it when they saw I was recording what they were doing. They rushed to me and tried to grab my phone, but I refused. They ended up hurting my finger in the process. That’s how violent they were,” the neighbour said.
The injured woman had huge praise for women from an informal settlement across the road from where the accident happened. They saw she was shivering and brought a blanket from one of their houses. They also told the uniformed officers to stop doing what they were doing.
The ambulance staff eventually managed to close the back and side door of the ambulance, despite the officers’ attempts to stop them from doing so. She was eventually rushed to Greenacres hospital, where she received 12 stitches to her head wound. “My head is so painful, I can’t even sleep properly. The trauma I experienced at the hands of men in uniform was just appalling, I’ve had to take anxiety tablets, and I’m planning on seeing a psychologist,” she said.
When asked for comment, Correctional Services Area Commissioner at the Area Coordinators Corporate Services, FA Simons said, “the Department of Correctional Services are not aware of this incident. Secondly the official was not on duty at the time of the incident.”
The woman reported the collision at a Police Station the following day, but when she wanted to report the actions of the Correctional Services staff members at the scene, she was asked on what charges she wants to report them. “At that time I was too tired and traumatized to take it any further and just went home,” she said.
