Truck driver dies after losing control of vehicle in Pietermaritzburg

A truck driver died after he lost control of his vehicle in Pietermaritzburg in the early hours of Saturday morning.

SA Long Distance Truckers said on its Facebook page that a fellow trucker who stopped at the scene believed an object had been thrown from a bridge, which went through the driver's windscreen, causing him to lose control.

It posted a photo of a brick which ostensibly shattered the windscreen.

Kwazulu-Natal police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane, confirmed that a case of culpable homicide was opened.

"It is alleged that the truck driver lost control and his truck hit guard rails and overturned."

He said allegations of an object being thrown at the vehicle would form part of the investigation.

They were also awaiting post-mortem results.

ER24 spokesperson Ross Campbell said they attended the scene on the N3 freeway, near the Armitage Road turnoff.

Paramedics and the fire department arrived just before 05:00 to find the truck on its side, half in the emergency lane and half down the embankment.

By the time they freed the driver, it was too late and he had no signs of life.

^{An object that was allegedly thrown into the truck. (SA Long-Distance Truckers)}