Truck torched, petrol bomb thrown at fleeing driver

A truck driver who pulled over to rest on the side of the highway was seriously injured when he was attacked with petrol bombs in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The 50-year-old man sustained burn wounds when his truck was set alight on the N1 about 10 kilometres outside the town of Touws River in the Western Cape.

The incident is the latest in a spate of attacks on trucks across the country. The Road Freight Association revealed in May that 1,300 trucks had been damaged or destroyed over the past year.

“At approximately 1am on Sunday morning, paramedics from ER24 came across the incident where they found the man’s truck well alight on the side of the road," ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak said in a statement about the latest incident.

"The man was found some distance away from his truck. He had sustained serious burn wounds and a possible injury to his ankle. 

“He explained to paramedics that he and his brother pulled over on the side of the highway with their trucks to rest.

“While he was sleeping, a petrol bomb was thrown through one of the windows of his truck’s cab, setting it alight. He managed to jump out of the truck and was apparently chased by an unknown number of men who threw another petrol bomb directly at him.”

The driver was treated at the scene and then transported to Mediclinic Worcester for further care.

Touws River police and the Worcester fire department attended the scene.