Roodepoort almost experienced an incident similar to the horrific Pinetown and William Nicol tragedy after a heavy truck carrying flammable liquid went crashing through a barrier around 3pm at the corner of Christiaan de Wet and Wilgerood Road on Friday afternoon (10 January).
According to a Joburg EMS representitive on scene, “The truck is believed to weigh at least 15 tons and was carrying 8 000l of diesel”.
The driver of the truck – who was unharmed – told the Record that he had just refuelled in Booysens in Johannesburg and that he was on his way to deliver the diesel to some generators close to Clearwater Mall when the accident happened.
“Something went wrong with the brakes as I was making my way down Christiaan de Wet. The traffic light had changed and as I applied the brakes, the truck didn’t want to stop.”
He says that he then had to choose between crashing into the vehicles in front of him or swerving towards the barrier. He chose the latter.
Luckily for the driver he avoided oncoming traffic.
The truck came to a standstill some distance into the veld at the koppie. Informal settlers are believed to live in the koppie, but no other injuries were reported.
Arriving at the scene were paramedics, Joburg EMS, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
The driver also mentioned to the Record that the truck belongs to City Power.
More updates to follow.
