Hero drags driver to safety
2003-07-22 08:44
Vera Schoeman
Port Elizabeth - A courier company employee risked his life in true James Bond style to save a badly injured truck driver from a crumpling wreck.
Anthony Ihlenfeldt says: "I have to say that I was shaking in my boots, but I had to do something. I couldn't leave him to die and there was no one else to do it."
He said he stopped at a company in North End about 15:00 to pick up a parcel when he heard a crash. "I instinctively looked up and saw a truck crashing through the bridge's safety railing. It was unreal, it was like a scene from an action movie."
The cab of the truck got stuck in a section of the rail at the Mount Road turn-off - the trailer had fallen to the highway below.
Ihlenfeldt realised that the cab could fall down any moment, endangering the truck driver. He went to fetch a fire extinguisher and rushed towards the accident, hearing the driver's grunts of pain.
"The door at the truck driver's side was torn off, leaving a gaping hole. He almost fell through that hole. I held onto him tightly, talking to him all the time."
Some of the bystanders found a rope, which Ihlenfeldt tied round his body and dragged the bleeding driver out of harm's way. When they were back on the road, the crowd started cheering.
A tow truck operator stabilised the injured man until an ambulance arrived. Traffic was disrupted for about three hours.
- Die Burger