Man dies, 15 people hurt on roads

FATAL: A truck driver was killed after losing control of his vehicle on the N3 Pietermaritzburg-bound just past Hilton.

KwaZulu-Natal - A truck driver died before paramedics could free him from the wreckage of his vehicle, which overturned on the N3 Pietermaritzburg-bound carriageway on Tuesday.

It is believed he lost control while driving past Hilton.

ER24 spokesman Derrick Banks said paramedics found the driver still trapped in the cabin of the truck, which had been extensively damaged.

“Unfortunately the driver had already succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead on the scene,” he said.

In a separate incident, a man believed to be in his fifties was taken to hospital in a critical condition after being hit by a train. Banks said he had been walking along the tracks near Northdale, Pietermaritzburg, with his friend.

“Paramedics were called by members of the public and found the man just off the side of the track in a very critical condition,” he said.

Banks said the man had sustained “very traumatic injuries” to his right arm.

Earlier, 15 people were injured, six seriously, after three vehicles, including a truck and a taxi, collided on the M4 Leo Boyd Highway near the Sibaya intersection. A taxi and a truck rolled down an embankment.

Netcare 911 paramedics found the truck driver trapped in the twisted frame of the vehicle and the taxi passengers were found at the base of the embankment.