Durban - A KwaZulu-Natal man was fatally wounded on Monday morning after being run over by a truck travelling south on the R102 in the Canelands area, north of the Durban central business district.
The unidentified man allegedly ran into the path of a Toyota Hino 3-ton truck, according to a statement by a local private security and emergency company on the scene, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA).
Motorists passing the incident scene contacted RUSA at around 6.30am for assistance, its director, Prem Balram, said on Monday.
“Members of Reaction Unit South Africa were dispatched to the scene and on arrival located the body of the fatally injured man in the centre median,” Balram said.
“According to the driver of the Toyota Hino truck, he was travelling towards Canelands when the deceased suddenly ran into his path of travel.”
Balram said the truck driver did not sustain any injuries.
The driver of the truck did not provide details on the speed he was going at the time of impact, but images of the incident online show that the truck’s front bumper and windscreen had sustained moderate damage.
Pedestrian deaths have grown in prominence over the years in South Africa, accounting for up to a third of all deaths on the country’s roads annually, according to a statement by Arrive Alive.
Statistics from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) measuring the period between 2008 and 2017 show that 48 350 pedestrians have died on the country’s roads, the AA report explained.
Almost 35% of the people who died on the roads over the Easter long weekend were pedestrians, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula said earlier this year.
Between April 2 and 5, the country recorded 235 fatalities, according to the government's Easter statistics.
Pedestrians are more vulnerable when walking drunk, jaywalking and crossing the road at dangerous points and informal settlements situated alongside busy roads and intersections, Mbalula said at the release of the statistics in April.
African News Agency (ANA)