A DRIVER on Wednesday narrowly escapes death after a two-tonne dump truck he was driving hit a tree near the SIFF academy in East Honiara.
The driver lost control of the truck when its cabin in which he was sitting inside and driving tilted forward after its pin and lock under the cabin lost grip.
The truck owned by Lee Kwok Kuen Company was on its way from the KGVI area heading westward. The driver a Gilbertese man and was alone at that time of accident.
Speaking to the paper after the incident, he described the event as a frightening which should have killed him.
The man was traveling on a speed less than 40 km/hr when he realised that his seat started moving up and down when the truck ran on top some of the uneven parts of the tar-sealed road.
While he was worried about the disturbing movements of his seat the cabin suddenly lost its position and tilted forward.
There was no time to pull the handbrakes or the foot-brake, as he was lifted by the cabin face down, denying him any chance to see where he was heading.
The driver after realising the problem and quickly pulled himself down for safety under the steering wheel as the roof of the cabin crashed onto the rain tree beside the road.
He recalled that if he had failed to take cover under the steer he could have sustained serious injuries or lost his life.
The roof of the cabin sustain damage with the front screen glass completely torn into pieces.
Lee Kowk Kuen Company quickly sent its men to the scene to remove the dump truck and towed it back to their workshop.
The driver said he was lucky to have survived the ordeal but was unhappy with his colleague who failed to lock the pin of the cabin before he took off.
The incident was said to be first to have happened in Honiara and some of the eye witnesses said it should be a learning lesson for all dump truck drivers.
Police was also at the scene to ensure traffic was moving freely because the incident had attracted a lot of people.
By AATAI JOHN
