Man dies after running into flaming fuel tanker, after crash

In a shocking video posted on Facebook, a man can be seen running straight into a fuel tanker which is burning on the side of the road.

The video was posted to the group Hermanus Uncut on Saturday afternoon, and according to the caption, the incident happened “at the top of the Houwhoek Pass” earlier in the day.

According to one of the Afrikaans voices which can be heard in the video, which apparently belongs to the truck driver, the driver of another vehicle had swerved right into the path of the truck as it was traveling down the road.

According to Nari, the tanker crashed after swerving to avoid a vehicle in which a couple was travelling alone. 

The tanker involved in the crash. Image: EMR/Facebook

It is reported that after the crash, the vehicle crashed through the barrier and down an embankment. The woman allegedly succumbed to her injuries and also died at the scene. 

The car in which a man and a woman were travelling in. Image: EMR/Facebook

Halfway through the video, someone can be seen running up the embankment and according to one of the voices, he was apparently the driver of the vehicle which collided with the truck.

The man runs straight into the flames, where he dies.

The caption to the video reads:

“DEATH AS A RESULT OF COVID-19

DEATH NOT AT ALL BY COVID-19

Two lives tragically lost today …

This is so very sad. This happened  today.

This individual first tried to commit suicide by colliding head on with the petrol tanker. Thank God the petrol tanker was already empty, of its once liquid cargo, aboard.

The survivor of the accident, then ran back onto the N2 and proceeded to lie down within the flames.

This individual must have been in a very dark place, to do something like this. It is once again so very tragic.

So many of us are losing everything financially as well as our sanity due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.

We are sadly, going to see a lot more COVERT-19 suicides happening worldwide ⚓”

Reinard Geldenhuys, manager of Protection Services in the Overberg District Municipality, confirmed to News24: “We received notice of an incident on the N2 highway near the Houwhoek Hotel turnoff, on the west side of Houwhoek Pass.

“Upon arrival, we found a car, which had seemingly had a head-on collision with a truck, which landed on the roadside.

“The truck was burning, and a body was found lying next to the truck. Upon investigation, including eyewitness accounts from people at the scene and the truck driver, it appears the man had walked deliberately into the burning fuel, next to and beneath the truck.”

Geldenhuys said they had initially been concerned that the presence of a child seat in the vehicle had suggested a child may have been flung out as the car crashed. But, he said, an extensive search had ruled this out.

As a result of the crash, the N2 was closed for roughly four hours. 

Emergency Medical Rescue (EMR) were at the scene, and confirmed that a man and a woman were involved in the crash.

EMR could not confirm that the woman had died at the scene as they did not do the declaration, but said they were aware of these reports.

The Western Cape police said in a statement that the bodies of two unknown people were later found after the fire was extinguished.

“A death inquest and culpable homicide has been opened for investigation after an accident that occurred yesterday on the N2, Grabouw,” Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said.

According to information, all the deceased’s next of kin have not yet been informed of their deaths, and they may therefore not be identified.

• This article has been amended, and the headline changed upon the receipt of new information.

(Updated by Nica Richards. Additional reporting by News24 Wire)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.