LOUIS TRICHARDT – "I could smell the blood as I approached the intersection. I realized that if somebody was to die, it should be me." These were the brave words of Mr Haureni Munetsi who on Thursday (8th) steered his thirty ton runaway truck clear from early morning traffic at all three intersections on the N1.

Mr Munetsi, a 56-year-old truck driver from Harare, was en route on the N1 south from Musina when he experienced engine failure on the steep mountain pass leading down to Louis Trichardt. Suddenly he was left without any brakes and horn and could only warn motorists of the oncoming danger by flashing his headlights. Things could have gone horribly wrong at any one of the town's three intersections crossing the N1, but by some kind of miracle that story had a happy ending. Over the last couple of years, run-away trucks have claimed the lives of several of the town's residents at these intersections.

As Mr Munetsi approached the N1/Stubbs Street-intersection, motorists gave way and the truck was able to speed through the crossing, barely missing several vehicles. The intersection was at that stage congested with early morning traffic as residents took their children to school and went to work. It then raced on towards the N1/Songozwi Street-intersection and again Mr Munetsi managed to steer his way clear of traffic. It was, however, at the intersection leading into Eltivillas, that Mr Munetsi realized that there was going to be problems. The intersection was heavily congested and motorists, faced with the image of a speeding runaway truck, started panicking.

"I could smell the blood as I approached the intersection. I realized that if somebody was to die, it should be me."

Mr Munetsi jerked his steering wheel to the left. The truck swerved off the road behind numerous vehicles in front of it waiting to cross the intersection. Amidst a cloud of dust the truck crossed over the main street leading into Eltivillas, again barely missing several vehicles. It burst through a fence on the border of the park opposite Ayob Motors, clipped some branches of a tree and made its way towards numerous hawker stands. As the hawkers scattered for safety and with only a couple of metres to spare, Mr Munetsi jerked the steering wheel to the right. At that stage the trailer's load started to shift because of the sudden change in direction, but still Mr Munetsi was able to keep the vehicle under control.

When the thirty-ton steel mass finally came to a stop, Mr Munetsi had almost made his way back to the N1 again. Shaken he got out of the truck to assess the damage and as the dust settled he was relieved to hear that nobody was injured. The only damage was a broken axle on one of the truck's trailers.

"I praise God that nobody was killed and that no other vehicles were damaged," Mr Munetsi said soon after the incident. He was taken to the municipal clinic were he was treated for mild shock. Numerous people, including local traffic officials afterwards congratulated Mr Munetsi on his exceptional driving skills, a skill he has mastered since 1978 when he got behind the steering wheel of a heavy vehicle for the first time.