/ 11 April 2005

Car ploughs into bikers near Pretoria

A man is in a critical condition and four others were seriously injured when a car ploughed into about 35 motorbikes near Pretoria on Sunday, News24.com reported.

It said one of the bikers, Clive Woods, dragged his wife to safety.

Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse said the seriously injured included a six-year-old boy. He and the other injured were taken to Unitas hospital.

The driver of the car suffered slight injuries.

Pieterse said eyewitnesses apparently saw the driver talking on his cellphone when the accident happened on the N1 highway south of Pretoria.

”He drove into the barricade on the right-hand side, lost control of the vehicle and ploughed into about 35 Harley-Davidson motorbikes.”

Debbie and Deon Naude were right behind the bikes when the accident happened.

”I saw two motorbikes sliding across the road and people rolling from the central lane to the side of the road,” said Debbie. ”My husband had to brake hard, else we would have gone over them.”

The driver of the vehicle said some the bikers attacked him after the accident.

News24.com quoted him as saying: ”They hit me against the ground and kicked me in the head. Another man intervened. He saved my life.” — Sapa