MALAGWANE ACCIDENT: DRIVER JUMPS OFF, CRUSHED TO DEATH BY HIS TRUCK

MNYAMATSINI – The truck driver, who was involved in an accident along Malagwane Hill on Wednesday night, was crushed to death by the truck after he jumped off.

This tragedy happened at the foot of Malagwane Hill, where the Mozambican truck driver (45) lost control of the horse and trailer truck, while descending the hill and it caught fire.
The accident happened at around 10pm on Wednesday. The truck driver is said to have tried to evade death by jumping off the truck, as it had caught fire and scratched the median barrier for about 200 metres. The impact of the collision between the truck and the median barrier was more visible on the truck tractor and it was on the driver’s side. According to eyewitnesses, the truck driver jumped out of the vehicle and fell onto the road and before he could escape, the very truck he was driving crushed him to death.

Eyewitnesses

The eyewitnesses claimed that while the truck tractor collided and moved against the median barrier, one of the two trailers it was pulling skidded across the two lanes. As this happened, the contents of the trailers, which was oil paint packaged in 25-litre buckets, spilt all over the tarmac. It was claimed that it was at this instance that the truck driver jumped off. The witnesses supposed that as the driver jumped off, he fell onto the tarmac and was crushed by the truck, which continued to skid along the road. They claimed that as the horse and trailer truck continued to skid downhill, his body was propelled to the left side of the road, where it remained until emergency medical services (EMS) personnel arrived. The driver’s body was covered in the oil paint he was transporting, as the containers had been strewn across all the lanes of the highway.

Footage

Meanwhile, visual footage and photos captured at the accident scene showed the 25-litre containers strewn all over the tarmac with their contents emptied. The oil paint formed a thick substance on the tarmac, which, according to members of the Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (ENFRES), resulted in vehicles skidding and colliding. It was said nine vehicles collided at the scene, subsequent to the horse and trailer truck accident. Subsequent to the loud bang of the truck hitting the concrete median barrier, it was gathered that in a few minutes, nearby residents arrived at the scene of the accident and started looting the paint spilt on the ground.

According to sources, along with the nearby residents, some motorists were also said to have taken containers of the paint into their vehicles. It is worth noting that in one of the many accidents along this stretch of Malagwane Hill, some members of the public looted a dangerous chemical that was in containers, which left a number of them disfigured. This accident follows another involving five vehicles where one passenger died on the spot at Mnyamatsini, which was also subsequent to another where a horse and trailer truck driven by a Mozambican national who lost control of it and the load of treated poles he was transporting were strewn all over the highway.

This particular accident resulted in three vehicles being damaged by the treated poles, while the horse and trailer overturned and trapped the driver for almost eight hours. On the other hand, a source from ENFRES, who attended to the accident scene, informed this publication that they received a call from the public, informing them about an accident at Mnyamatsini.
He said they rushed to the scene, where they started looking for the truck driver, in an effort to afford him first aid in case he was injured. In their search, he said they found the Mozambican national at the edge of the road, metres away from where the horse and trailer truck had landed. The source said his (truck driver) clothing was immersed in the oil paint, and he did not respond to them.

The officer said they discovered that the driver had fractured a number of body parts, including his shoulder blade, arms and legs. Meanwhile, Inspector Ntombenhle Fakudze from the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), said the accident occurred in sequence. She said the first incident involved the truck ferrying paint to Manzini before it overturned, resulting in the paint spilling all over the tarmac. Fakudze said motorists then had difficulty driving past the accident scene as the horse and trailer truck blocked both lanes descending Malagwane Hill.
She said moments later, a mini-truck heading towards Manzini drove into seven other vehicles from behind, resulting in a pile-up. “After the accident, traffic was blocked for hours, while essential services personnel tried to clear the road to allow the smooth flow of traffic,” Fakudze said. Also, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, confirmed the death of a 45-year-old Mozambican driver. She said the driver was suspected of having jumped off the moving truck, before he was crushed by the same vehicle.

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