Durban - A Ford Ranger driver who allegedly accidentally shot himself in a road rage altercation with a truck driver on Thursday, could face criminal charges.
The incident happened on the M13 (King Cetshwayo) Highway near Hillcrest just after noon, and brought traffic to a standstill.
An almost three-minute video of the altercation, which was uploaded by security company Security Force on
Facebook on Thursday, shows two vehicles stopped in the fast lane.
The Ranger Wildtrak driver stands at the door of a truck, which is open. The truck driver then jumps out of the truck and raises
his hand to strike the bakkie driver with what looks like a metal pipe.
As the men continue their tussle, the truck driver lifts the van driver from behind with both men still clinging on to the object. Other people try to intervene but the altercation continues.
At one point it appears that the situation has been diffused, but the men continue to
argue and then start hitting each other. A gunshot is heard just before the video ends, while the drivers and a bystander continue the tussle.
Partial amputation
MediTech’s Michelle Smith said their paramedics arrived at the scene to find the
bakkie driver with a gunshot wound. The bullet had gone through his hand. “There was a partial amputation to his left pinkie,” she said. He was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Andreas Mathios, Blue Security’s media liaison person, who was also at the scene, said the incident had shut down west-bound traffic.
He said it was alleged that the truck driver had swerved into the right lane after realising the top of his truck would get stuck under the Old Main Road bridge that curves down above the left lane.
Police spokeswoman Captain Nqobile Gwala said charges of attempted murder and pointing a firearm were being investigated by the Hillcrest police.
Both the injured man and the driver with whom he had the altercation could be charged.