Hanging wire seriously injures cyclist on M4
The 59-year-old cyclist shattered his collarbone, broke four of his ribs and suffered a collapsed lung in the horrific incident.
TWO cyclists have warned others to be careful when riding on the M4, specifically after the Westbrook circle. The warning came after a wire, draped across the cycling lane, caused a serious accident recently. The incident occurred at about 9.20am.
Tony Swanepoel (59) of the East Coast Cycling Club, was on a training ride ahead of the Amashova and was heading back towards Durban with his friend, Hennie Steyn, when disaster struck.
Swanepoel was cycling around 35km/h when a wire hung from a tree across the cycling lane, caused him to trip and fall. The 59-year-old shattered his collarbone, broke four of his ribs and suffered a collapsed lung in the horrific incident. The impact was so severe that Swanepoel’s helmet cracked.
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Swanepoel’s training partner spotted a suspicious man standing near the accident scene following the incident and it is unclear whether the ‘trip-wire’ was a way to rob cyclists as some have alleged.
“I just remember something wrapping around my handlebars and my face and then falling. I just remember seeing the blue sky following the accident and then waking up in hospital. I don’t know what the intention of the wire was but I urge cyclists to be vigilant and try and ride in large groups. I’m also grateful to Hennie (Steyn) and the lady who stopped her car when she saw the accident and called for medical assistance,” he said.
His training partner, Steyn, also fell in the incident but escaped serious injury.
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“I was close behind him so when he fell I actually rode over him causing me to fall. There was guy standing 10 metres away from where the wire was hanging and then I lost sight of him as soon as the female motorist stopped to help us. I’m just glad there weren’t any cars close behind us because Tony fell right onto the road and it could have been much worse,” Steyn said.
The duo who have been cycling for 15 years said they had never had an incident like this before.
“The bush is growing into the cycling lane but there’s never been wire wrapped around a tree. When I had a look at the wire wrapped around Tony’s bike, it looked like the multi-coloured wires you find inside a landline phone,” Steyn said.
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