PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A 41-year-old man was crushed to death on Friday 14 July when extremely heavy glass panels he and another worker were off-loading at a premises near Harkerville, on the N2, landed on top of them.
According to Southern Cape police spokesperson Sgt Chris Spies, Kwanokuthula police detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident which happened at about 11:00.
He said that available information indicated that the victim was off-loading from a delivery vehicle when he was hit by an object, believed to be the glass.
"The victim sustained serious injuries and was declared dead by paramedics on the scene.
"An autopsy to determine the cause of death was conducted," said Spies, stating that the autopsy report formed part of the ongoing police probe and that the investigation continues.
The first call for help for "a person who had been crushed by a sheet of glass" was received by the Harkerville Rural Protection (HRP) group at about 11:09 on Friday and was then forwarded to the First Responders* call centre for additional support.
Local ambulance services, Western Cape Government Health Metro Rescue Services and Bitou Fire services were alerted.
HRP Crime and Fire Group first responder Dylan Oliver said, "When I arrived on the scene, I found a fellow responder in the back of a container truck attempting to free a man caught under a sheet of glass by using a motor vehicle jack. It was obvious that the patient was badly injured. At this time a bystander informed me that a second man who had initially also been trapped under the glass, but had been pulled free, was lying nearby."
After locating the man Oliver conducted a primary survey of his condition. "I found that he had sustained a possible severe hip injury, and that there were signs of possible internal bleeding." Fellow first responders and HRP members began arriving on the scene.
During the attempts to free the man trapped inside the back of the truck, he was found to have no signs of life.
"First responders continued to work at freeing him. Within 15 minutes of the call for help going out, Medlife ambulance services as well as Bitou Fire Services arrived on the scene," said Oliver.
In a statement, First Responders conveyed their condolences to the family of the deceased and wished the patient who is currently in hospital a quick recovery.
"A huge thank you goes out to all who assisted in clearing the roadway as well as motorists who pulled over for response vehicles responding to the incident," said Otto Olivier, operations head of the Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Agency, who attended the incident as part of First Responders.
* First Responders is a community-based volunteer group that provides assistance to the professional medical services. First Responder volunteers fund their own fuel, phone and insurance costs. The group relies on donations from the public to fund its equipment and consumables.
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