Durban - The man who threw himself into the flames of a burning truck in the Western Cape at the weekend, has been identified as retired pharmacist, Ben Wiid.
Wiid and his wife Riana, a retired teacher, had been travelling on the N2 near Grabouw when their vehicle collided into a petrol tanker.
According to reports, Wiid's vehicle veered of the road and crashed into a tree.
satrucker.co.za reported that Riana died in the car.
In video footage which has since gone viral on social media networks, Wiid is seen running into the road and proceeds to lie down in the flames of the tanker.
Shocked onlookers scream and become hysterical as Wiid dies at the scene. The tanker driver was unharmed.
It is believed that the couple were on their way home from Somerset West to Kleinmond. The incident took place around noon on Saturday on the Houwhoek Pass, near the Houwhoek Hotel turn-off, between Grabouw and Bot River, in the Western Cape.
Emergency Services manager in the Overberg district municipality Reinard Geldenhuys told the Cape Argus: “Upon investigation, and including witness accounts from people on the scene and a video that was given to us, it appeared that the person was in the car that was involved in a head-on collision with the truck. Then he got out of the car, and threw himself into the burning fuel under the truck, where he succumbed and obviously burnt to death."
The couple leave behind two daughters and three grandchildren.