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19/06/2008 12:35 PM - (SA) Accident could've been prevented 20/06/08
I witnessed a horrific accident on the N2 and am shocked even more because something could have been done to prevent it. I had driven along Sir Lowry's Pass Road to the N2 to do the usual Saturday things. I stopped at the stop street at the intersection, following a lady in a green car in front of me. She was moving slowly. Then I noticed the police car parked in the slip road to the left. Pulling up in front of her, onto the N2 I realised that she had seen the traffic hold-up in front of us before me. Expecting usual Saturday morning traffic, I pulled into the line of traffic and saw that further ahead was an accident scene with emergency vehicles, so I slowed down to wait for movement. The green car pulled in behind me and we waited, but the traffic didn't move. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw a truck heading over the rise from the pass with lights flashing. Horrified, as we were directly in line, we watched as he headed toward us, brakes screaming, then swung his truck to the right to avoid the line of traffic. He jack-knifed and skidded down the road. I pulled to the left of the truck in front to get some protection if possible and move away as far as I could - then heard the truck crash into the trees and bushes on the other side of the road. It's possible that he saved many lives by his actions as the knock-on effect could have been terrible, but it was awful to witness. The paramedics from further down came to the scene and I do not know if the driver is dead or alive. By this time the traffic from Sir Lowry's Pass and Gordon's Bay was piling up and I turned my car around, to return to Gordon's Bay. At the intersection I stopped to talk to a lorry driver who had parked and taken it upon himself to wave and slow down traffic from the pass. I asked him if there was any warning, alerts or police cars parked up the pass to warn of the original traffic scene and hold up ahead and he confirmed that there was not. He remarked that this behaviour was usual these days. Why then was the police car parked at the intersection? What was his supposed function? He was doing nothing except sit in his car and watch the traffic situation get worse. Surely he or another officer should have been putting some preventive measures in place, especially with the notoriety of that intersection, the Saturday traffic and the wet roads. I am always on high alert on that intersection but this incident has shown me how one traffic hold up can precipitate a terrible chain of events.
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