Screeching tyres, horrifying screams, and then silence — this is how a witness vividly described a peak-hour accident that resulted in a traffic cop being struck and killed by a manganese ore truck on the N2 in Kinkelbos on Tuesday afternoon.
One moment Silwana Hadi, 43, was signalling for the truck to stop and be weighed, and the next she was lying lifeless on the side of the road.
The 35-year-old driver has since been arrested.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the incident occurred at the Kinkelbos weighbridge station at about 3pm.
“She was declared dead [at] the scene,” she said.
“He is detained at the Kinkelbos police station for further investigation.”
Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the department was aware of the incident.
According to a video taken by an eyewitness, Hadi was lying on the right-hand side of the road.
“She was bumped,” the witness said.
In the same video, seen by The Herald, one of her colleagues is walking towards her.
DA MPL Marshall von Buchenroder said the horrific accident had once again brought into sharp focus the high volume of manganese trucks on this stretch of road and the dangers that went with them.
“There has been a steady stream of complaints regarding reckless and negligent driving and downright indecent behaviour by these truck drivers towards fellow road users,” Buchenroder said.
“Late last year, in November, a manganese truck driver was arrested after four people died in an accident on the N9 at Middelburg.
“The DA is calling on premier Oscar Mabuyane and transport MEC Xolile Nqatha to find long-term solutions to reduce the volume of manganese ore trucks on our roads.
“It is clear that MEC Nqatha’s earlier appeals for manganese ore truck drivers to obey the rules of the road and to respect other road users have fallen on deaf ears.”
HeraldLIVE
Traffic cop dies after being hit by manganese truck
Image: GARETH WILSON
Screeching tyres, horrifying screams, and then silence — this is how a witness vividly described a peak-hour accident that resulted in a traffic cop being struck and killed by a manganese ore truck on the N2 in Kinkelbos on Tuesday afternoon.
One moment Silwana Hadi, 43, was signalling for the truck to stop and be weighed, and the next she was lying lifeless on the side of the road.
The 35-year-old driver has since been arrested.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the incident occurred at the Kinkelbos weighbridge station at about 3pm.
“She was declared dead [at] the scene,” she said.
“He is detained at the Kinkelbos police station for further investigation.”
Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the department was aware of the incident.
According to a video taken by an eyewitness, Hadi was lying on the right-hand side of the road.
“She was bumped,” the witness said.
In the same video, seen by The Herald, one of her colleagues is walking towards her.
DA MPL Marshall von Buchenroder said the horrific accident had once again brought into sharp focus the high volume of manganese trucks on this stretch of road and the dangers that went with them.
“There has been a steady stream of complaints regarding reckless and negligent driving and downright indecent behaviour by these truck drivers towards fellow road users,” Buchenroder said.
“Late last year, in November, a manganese truck driver was arrested after four people died in an accident on the N9 at Middelburg.
“The DA is calling on premier Oscar Mabuyane and transport MEC Xolile Nqatha to find long-term solutions to reduce the volume of manganese ore trucks on our roads.
“It is clear that MEC Nqatha’s earlier appeals for manganese ore truck drivers to obey the rules of the road and to respect other road users have fallen on deaf ears.”
HeraldLIVE
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