Pretoria - A truck driver burnt to death after a petrol tanker burst into flames on the N4 near the Mabopane highway in Pretoria, on Thursday.
When paramedics arrived at the scene they found the driver lying next to the truck burnt beyond recognition.
The Mercedes-Benz tanker believed to have been transporting diesel rear-ended a Volvo truck. The truck overturned then ignited and burnt to ashes because of the diesel spillage.
Netcare 911’s Athlenda Mathe said when they arrived on the scene, they found Tshwane fire department officials already busy extinguishing the fire.
“The driver was dead and burnt beyond recognition upon our arrival,” Mathe said.
Accroding Mathe, an eyewitness near the scene said she heard several loud explosions. The eyewitness described the accident as horrific. The woman, who was standing on the other side of the highway, couldn’t get close because of the intensity of the heat from the accident.
The accident occurred around noon and affected traffic flow well into the late afternoon. The Brits-bound lanes of the N4 highway were closed for several hours to clear the scene.
In a separate incident, a section of the N14 highway near the R512 in Gauteng was temporarily closed due to another truck accident.
Pretoria News