Durban - Thousands of motorists travelling north on the N2 freeway after the EB Cloete Interchange (Spaghetti Junction) in the vicinity of Westwood Mall, had to look for an alternative route after a bakkie and truck collided on Wednesday.
Traffic was also severely affected on the southbound freeway because of the accident, and motorists rubbernecking.
Rescue Care paramedics spokesman, Garrith Jamieson, said the bakkie had broken down in the emergency lane when the truck crashed into it. The truck overturned, spilling its load on to the freeway.
Metro police reports said there was a spillage of oil on the road. Netcare 911 paramedics spokesman, Chris Botha, said the truck was carrying a load of paint products.
The bakkie driver sustained serious injuries, while the truck driver had minor injuries. Both were taken to hospital.
The scene was cleaned by Spilltech and police said they cleaned the road as quickly as possible.
The crash, at about 11am, shut down the freeway for several hours.
With the N2 having limited off-ramps in emergencies, angry motorists called the Daily News , saying they had been stuck in traffic for more than an hour.
Traffic coming down the N3 from Westville was also affected.
Some of the affected motorists were travelling to the King Shaka International Airport.
Daily News