Two pedestrians narrowly escaped a dangerous situation when 15-tonne concrete slabs fell from a lorry onto a busy motorway. The incident, which occurred on the North-South Motorway in southern Australia, was captured in dramatic footage showing the massive slabs crashing onto the road, hitting multiple vehicles and almost striking bystanders.
The accident took place around 10:30 am on a Friday as the lorry was changing lanes, causing its heavy load to shift and the concrete segments to plummet onto the carriageway. The falling slabs struck three cars parked on the motorway’s hard shoulder, where pedestrians were standing, creating a cloud of dust as they landed.
One pedestrian was rushed to the hospital with a suspected broken arm, while two others sustained minor injuries. Authorities expressed relief that there were no fatalities in the incident, considering the severity of the situation.
A witness, Vicas Mataru, who was assisting a colleague with a broken-down vehicle when the slabs fell, described the event as miraculous and credited luck for their survival. Mataru mentioned that a yellow car absorbed much of the impact, diverting the slabs away from where they were standing.
The lorry driver reportedly apologized to Mataru, attributing the accident to another vehicle abruptly cutting in front of him, causing him to brake suddenly and lose the load of concrete segments meant for the Torrens to Darlington (T2D) motorway construction project.
Following the incident, transportation of concrete segments was temporarily halted as a precaution while investigations into the crash continue. The damaged vehicles were cleared from the scene, and a crane was deployed to lift and remove the hefty concrete slabs. Authorities are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.