Durban - A pedestrian crossing Durban’s busy Warwick Junction during peak hour traffic Monday afternoon died while taking a short cut by crawling under a truck’s trailer.
Witnesses said the man, whose name was being withheld because his next of kin had not been informed, had been dragged to his death while ducking under the slow-moving truck.
An emergency responder said it was suspected the man’s backpack had got caught on the truck’s undercarriage when the truck started moving when space cleared in the traffic. The man was dragged for about 16m.
The incident happened on Julius Nyerere Street (Warwick Avenue) and Canongate Road, which leads on to the N3 highway.
The Metro Police called on pedestrians to use foot bridges in the city and called the incident “unfortunate”.
Metro Police spokesman, Senior Superintendent Eugene Msomi, said they were aware of claims that the man had been trying to crawl under the truck, but said this would be subject to a thorough police investigation.
“We have heard about the allegation but the matter is subject to investigation. The accident happened during peak-hour traffic and at that time you have many trucks coming from the harbour to join the N3. The area is very congested,” added Msomi.
“It is an unfortunate situation. We have a big problem with people who, for whatever reason, do not like to utilise the footbridges built for that purpose,” he said.
Witnesses said they shouted to the driver of the 16-wheel truck trailer to stop because someone was under it, but he appeared not to have heard them above the street noise.
A vendor said pedestrians crossing under trailers was common.
“This was not the first time these boys attempted to cross under trucks. It’s a pity this man was the one to be an example of what happens to the negligent bunch. We always tell them to stop this but they never listen,” she said.
Meanwhile eight people, including six schoolchildren, were injured when a bakkie collided with a car in Verulam on Monday afternoon.
Netcare 911 spokesman, Chris Botha, said the bakkie had been transporting children home.
“The bakkie veered off the road and plunged down a cliff face for about 30m. The mangled wreckage came to rest against trees, preventing it from rolling further down the mountain. The injured children were ejected from the wreckage,” he said.
One girl was critically wounded. She was found pinned between rocks and the bakkie, Botha said. A special mountain rescue system had to be used to hoist her out.
Daily News