“I remember seeing her struggling with her leg, as if her shoe was stuck somewhere or it had slipped off. She was already close to the pavement.”
SHOCKED members of the public watched in horror yesterday after a woman’s leg was ripped off when she was hit by a truck and dragged along the tar road in an accident at the intersection of Sydney and Long streets.
The woman was apparently hit by the truck while she was crossing the road at the robot.
It is believed that the truck driver did not notice the woman who was almost over the pedestrian crossing when the robot turned red, giving the truck right of way.
An eye-witness, who described the incident, said she had been left severely traumatised.
She said she saw the woman walking slowly across the road but she had not paid much attention as she was busy talking at the time.
“We were crossing on the other side from the direction of Kaap Krimp towards the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, while the woman seemed to be coming from the Pick * Pay centre,” said the witness.
“I remember seeing her struggling with her leg, as if her shoe was stuck somewhere or it had slipped off. She was already close to the pavement.
“The next thing I heard was the impact as the truck hit her.
“The bottom half of her body was stuck under the front wheels of the truck, which was still moving, and she was screaming for help
“I was ice-cold with shock and just held on to the nearest pole and screamed. That is when people realised what was happening and a car, driven by a woman, swerved next to the injured woman to block the traffic and prevent further injury.
“By the time I looked around me, the woman was lying on the other side of the intersection, her leg lying a distance from her, part of it was flattened by the truck as it drove over her.”
The woman said that the driver of a bakkie who had witnessed the whole incident chased after the truck and stopped it a few metres away from the scene.
She added that the truck driver was shocked and feared for his own life after several people and street children gathered around him. “Some even attempted to open the truck door and pull him out.”
Another witness said he had never seen such a thing in his life. He added that he was very relieved when he heard the injured woman try to speak, although it was very soft.
“She was very weak as she had lost a lot of blood. She was also badly cut on the bottom of her stomach and her intestines were exposed. People were running around to call ambulances and keep her as comfortable as possible,” said the horrified man
The woman was taken to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital by Emer-G-Med ambulance while police tried to control the traffic and clean the road.
The woman was reported to be in a critical condition.
