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Truck driver veers off N4, lands in Lowveld farmer’s driveway

A truck driver was trapped in his vehicle for over 10 hours when a local farmer's employee happened upon the crash site and heard the driver tapping on the vehicle's window.

A truck driver was trapped in his vehicle for over 10 hours after he had veered off the N4 near Alkmaar on Monday night, March 7, and landed in a farmer’s driveway.

ER24’s spokesperson, Russel Meiring, said the driver, who is believed to be in his 40s, was rushed to hospital on Tuesday morning.

Alkmaar resident Trish Stevenson said the truck had landed in her farm’s driveway, and one of her employees had come across the accident early on Tuesday morning.

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She said the employee had seen some broken trees in the driveway, and upon following the trail of devastation, he found the truck stuck in some bushes.

“He said he had heard a faint tapping on the driver’s window and realised there might still be someone inside. This was about 06:30. He rushed to my property to wake me up and let me know what had happened,” said Stevenson.

Her property overlooks the N4, and she says she can often hear when accidents happen or when a truck’s tyre bursts.

“I heard a loud bang just after 20:00 on Monday. I went outside and looked down on to the N4 to see if I could see anything. I couldn’t, so I thought it was just a truck tyre that had burst.”

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She said when the employee woke her up the next morning, she rushed out and began making calls to emergency services.

Meiring said the paramedics arrived as they were on their way to another accident scene, and found the man trapped in the driver’s seat in a critical condition.

“Rescue services had to use specialised equipment to free him from the truck. Once released, the man was treated and transported to a provincial hospital for urgent care,” he said.

The current condition of the driver was not known by the time of going to press.

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