A SECONDER in last week’s Comrades Marathon who fell and fractured her ankle near the race route waited more than two hours to be taken to hospital because an ambulance was unable to reach her due to traffic congestion.
Paramedics eventually got to the incapacitated Jenna Buchner on foot to administer basic treatment ahead of hospitalisation.
Buchner slipped and fell while on a Thousand Hills Drive, Drummond, minutes before she could provide assistance to a relative who was participating in the marathon.
Residents and others questioned why motorists were allowed to park haphazardly on a section of Thousand Hills Drive, which is a stone’s throw from the race’s traditionally well-frequented Comrades halfway-mark on Old Main Road.
A local tabloid newspaper, Berea Mail, reported that a runner was left stranded as the gridlocked Thousands Hill Drive prevented another supporter from connecting with an athlete.
The seconder’s vehicle was parked in.
Athlete’s rely on seconders to provide support, supplements, and vital information during the race. For competitive runners, effective seconding is the difference between winning or losing.
Buchner said: “It took paramedics a long time to get the ambulance to me and to a Durban hospital.
“My fall happened around 9.30am and I got to hospital about 1pm.”
She was moved to a Johannesburg hospital on Monday and was discharged on Thursday.
Buchner was walking down a slope when she fell.
“I was in Drummond to second a runner who was about 10 minutes away.
“That portion of road is small, the paramedics did their best under the circumstances.”
After her fall, Buchner arranged support for her runner from other members of their running group with a text message.
“My runner needed her supplements and transport to her place of accommodation. She panicked when I contacted her over the phone with help from other runners. It all came together in the end,” said Buchner, who operated as a Comrades seconder for the fifth time.
She expects to be off from work for a couple of weeks because her job in the hospitality industry requires her to be mobile.
“When my runner decides to come back for the Comrades, I definitely will,” said Buchner.
Rowyn James, the Comrades race director, said he would not comment about Buchner’s ordeal as he was not made aware of events on Thousands Hill Drive, which was not on the route.
James said Durban’s metro police and KZN’s division of the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) prepared a traffic management plan before the race and he would attend their debriefing session this week.
“I will wait for their feedback.”
He said motorists should assume responsibility for their actions and traffic authorities tried their best to ensure road safety.
James acknowledged that Thousand Hills Drive was a popular vantage point for spectators.
“In our future planning, we will take feedback and see how we can improve things,” said James.
Zinhle Mngomezulu, KwaZulu-Natal’s RTI spokesperson, said she was not aware of the traffic congestion in Drummond and they tried to ensure that traffic flowed, motorists were safe and cars were parked appropriately.
She they would be investigating who was meant to be manning the Drummond area, but as far as she knew it was an area that fell under Durban Metro police’s control.
“All the relevant issues from the Comrades will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting,” she said.
Boysie Zungu, metro police spokesperson, said they had more than 100 officers placed strategically along the route and crime hotspots and controlled traffic as planned.
“We are not aware of any traffic congestion issues that occurred in Drummond.
“People parked at Drummond were either parked at private parking spaces or parked illegally on open spaces. Metro police officers do not work in private parking spaces,” said Zungu.
Steven Bailey, a long-time Drummond resident, said the congestion did not happen on private property but on a public road (Thousand Hills Drive) and better traffic control would have obviated the problem.
“It hasn’t been a problem before, it just needed better control.
“It’s not difficult to solve the problem. A few policemen were needed at some point, lower down on Thousands Hills Drive, which is closed on one end, to divert traffic.
“Instead, people parked everywhere.”
Bailey said Buchner was injured near a guesthouse and an ambulance was stuck halfway up Thousand Hills Drive because of the congestion.
“I watched the ambulance trying to get through for at least an hour.
“Guys were trying to move cars around by bouncing them out of the way.
“There was a metro peace officer trying to help, but she couldn't make headway. What would have happened if someone had a more serious injury?” he asked.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE