Durban police launch manhunt for truck driver who ploughed into 36 cars in M41 crash

Police in KwaZulu-Natal have launched a manhunt for the driver of a truck that crashed into 36 vehicles on the M41 in Durban on Monday morning.

The publication previously reported a pregnant woman had to be airlifted from the scene while two more people were critically injured.

Police confirmed 16 people were treated at the scene.

Kyle van Reenen, of Emer-G-Med, said several emergency services agencies rushed to the scene at the M41 onramp to the M4 highway just before 8 am.

When emergency teams arrived they found mayhem, he said. According to reports, a fully laden truck ploughed into multiple vehicles. The nature of the truck’s cargo has not yet been confirmed.

“The eThekwini Fire Department has secured the scene until confirmation is made that it is safe,” Van Reenen said

Speaking to the SABC, eThekwini metro police spokesperson Boysie Zungu said the truck driver fled.

“According to the information I have received, the driver of the truck is nowhere to be found. He fled the scene. That on its own is a crime,” Zungu said.

He added while the matter was under investigation, brake failure was believed to have been the cause of the crash.

-IOL

In other news – Police say drug overdose might have killed Pearl Shongwe

Late radio news reader Pearl Shongwe‘s cause of death has been suspected to be a drug overdose. A local publication reports that police officers found drugs in her bedroom when they did a cleanup at her home.

“We suspect drug overdose because we have found drugs in her bedroom when we were combing the house for possible leads to her death,” the police officer told the publication. They further stated that they are looking into surveillance cameras to determine who might have been the last person to be with Shongwe while she was alive. Learn More