Witnesses were left in shock after a motorist who had collided with an empty petrol tanker on the N2 climbed out of his car and ran towards the burning tanker, throwing himself into the flames.
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.
It is believed that a female passenger had died on impact and could have been the reason why the man decided to end his life.
In a video that went viral on social media, a witness can be heard screaming from afar: "Get away there guy. Oh my gosh, I can feel the heat from here. No get away, no... what did he just do? What did he just do...
"He just ran and lay down in the fire. Why? Hy lê daar en hy brand(he is lying there burning). Ma, hy is dood(mother he is dead)."
She then asked the truck driver, who managed to escape unharmed and had been moving away from the scene of the accident: " Het hy in jou gery?(Did he drive into you)… Hoekom het hy dit gedoen? (Why did he do it).
The aftermath after an empty fuel tanker and a car collided on the N2 between Grabouw and Bot River. Picture: Supplied
The driver says: " Ek weet ni e (I don't know). Hy het reg in my baan gery(he drove directly into my lane); jy kan sien die briekmerke(you can see the brake marks). Toe ry hy in die lorrie(then he collided with the lorry)."
The witness replies: "Why did he do that? I'm so sorry you had to witness that."
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said on Monday: "A death inquest and culpable homicide has been opened for investigation after an accident that occurred on Saturday on the N2, Grabouw.
"According to information, a blue Renault allegedly drove into an empty fuel truck . The driver of the truck tried to give way and it caught light. The driver of the truck escaped unharmed.
"Two bodies of unknown persons were later discovered once the fire was extinguished."
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."