MBOMBELA – Tourists are always perplexed to see warning signs that hippo might cross the road, but seldom expect it to really happen. The truth is, it not that uncommon.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a truck pulling two trailers was written off when it hit a hippo on the N4/Alkmaar intersection.
Even though the truck was wrecked, the driver and his passenger escaped with minor injuries. They were transporting rafters and concrete pillars to Hazyview from Pretoria to contribute to a school being built in the area – a project by Komatiland Forests.
It is suspected that the hippo crossed the road at about 03:45 when it got hit and killed. According to the fleet company’s manager, Mr Riaan van der Merwe who arrived shortly after the incident, the vehicle’s front axle bent upon impact, causing the driver to lose control. “The truck became airborne after hitting the barrier at 60km/h and came to a standstill down an embankment next to the N4.
I am glad that the passengers are okay as it could have been a lot different,” Van der Merwe said. “This was one of our better trucks, and it will take us at least two months to get a new one back on the road.”
When approximately 16 looters arrived on the scene with knifes and buckets to collect meat from the carcass, they were prohibited from doing so.
The MTPA removed the carcass shortly after the incident.
According to TRAC N4, the concessionaire of the road, it took about 10 hours to clear the scene due to the nature of the accident, but the road only had to be closed for a while when Van Wettens Towing recovered the truck from the the ditch.
An alternative lane was created to divert traffic.
TRAC also confirmed this was not an uncommon occurrence as this is the fourth time that a hippo had been killed on the N4 since 2008.