W/o Shima Mhaule, a court orderly, was struck alongside court interpreter, Vusi Nkosi, with whom he was chatting before tragedy struck around 07:30.

The accident occurred in front of two Observer journalists who, were waiting at the intersection en route to the Wonderpark Centre.

Details of precisely what occurred were still sketchy by the time of print, though the journalists saw two vehicles, a red bakkie and red sedan, colliding, before the sedan spun out of control, veered onto the pavement, and continued to roll at high speed, to where the two men were standing.

The bakkie fled the scene, immediately after the collision, with a traffic official close on his heels.

Both w/o Mhaule, and Mr Nkosi, were crushed between the sedan and a parked Citi Golf.

The sedan however landed on top of w/o Mhaule, pinning him to the ground.

Midst loud screams of anguish, many men rushed to the bleeding policeman’s side, lifting the car and pulling him from beneath.

Within seconds the scene was overrun by colleagues of the two men, including magistrates and prosecutors.

Shock quickly overwhelmed everyone on the scene, including paramedics who fought ferociously for the lives of the injured, in the absence of ambulances.

One provincial, and a single ER24 ambulance, arrived after the collision, with off duty paramedics rushing to the scene to assist.

Unrelenting streaks of blood trickled into the street from the parking bay, where the two men were struck by the rolling car without warning.

Both sustained multiple fractures and serious head trauma, and were rushed to hospital where they were admitted in critical condition.

Despite frantic attempts by paramedics to save w/o Mhaule’s life, his injuries were just too severe, and he died shortly after being admitted to hospital.

Captain Khanyisile Zwane told the Observer that a number of statements had to be taken, and therefore the police could not speculate on what had happened before going to print.

She merely said “no arrests have been made,” in reply to a question on the whereabouts of the bakkie driver, who fled the scene.

Middelburg Observer is reprimanded for publishing the picture of a dying man, without blocking out his head and the blood, and is directed to remove the first two pictures from its website, with a note of this finding.