Two freak incidents claimed the lives of two people over the weekend.
In the first incident, a 55-year-old man was killed while gardening at his Verulam home when he was struck by a car whose driver had blacked out and lost control. In the second incident, a 47-year-old man was crushed by his truck in Inanda on Friday evening.
Reaction Unit South Africa’s (RUSA) Prem Balram said they received a call for assistance just after lunch on Sunday.
“When our officers got to the scene, they found that the man was trapped under the vehicle and that the driver of the other vehicle was trapped inside her car. We established then that the white vehicle had veered off the road and struck the man who was pruning plants outside of his property on the verge,” said Mr Balram.
He said 68-year-old woman who had been driving the vehicle had had to be extricated with assistance.
“Once we managed to help her recover a bit and treated her for the minor injuries she sustained, she said she had blacked out and that resulted in the car losing control. It was too late for us to do anything to assist the man who has been struck as he sustained life-threatening injuries,” said Mr Balram.
In the second incident, the man had been standing behind his truck that was off-loading ready mix concrete when it rolled and crushed him.
“The man had been standing behind the truck that was parked on a steep driveway, and off-loading ready mix concrete when it began to roll. He allegedly tried to stop the truck, but fell and was crushed by the rear tyres. The truck came to a stop on top of him after it struck a house as well,” said Mr Balram.
Police are investigating both incidents.
