Near tragedy as truck smashes bus stop, fences on busy Adelaide road

A bystander’s rear view dashcam has captured the terrifying moment a truck swerves onto a footpath and ploughs through an Adelaide intersection, narrowly missing cars and a home.

Vision captured just after 10am on Tuesday, shows the B-double truck drifting into a nearby bike lane then mounting the footpath along Hampstead Road.

The truck can be seen charging through a road sign and knocking over a light pole before speeding through an intersection, narrowly missing a hatchback waiting at a red light.

It completely wipes out a bus shelter, hedges and fences before stopping short of a home.

Paul Brackley caught the entire frightening incident on his camera attached by his back number plate.

“He completely lost control and he was coming into me so I put my foot on the accelerator to get away,” he told 9News.

“And then he started crashing into things, and then I immediately pulled up, and then I ran back and helped the guy out of the truck.”

The truck driver – a 31 year old man from New South Wales – was reportedly slumped over in the front seat with “blood on his face” when Mr Brackley got to him, “but he looked okay, apart from that,” he added.

Authorities arrived and transported the driver to the Royal Adelaide hospital, where he underwent mandatory drug and alcohol testing. He reportedly told Mr Brackley he fainted behind the wheel.

DTL Timbers, the driver’s company, told 7News Adelaide he had a medical episode behind the wheel and sustained minor injuries in the incident. A spokesman said he was “still trying to recall what happened” but was “really grateful that nobody was injured in any way, shape or form”.

That sentiment was echoed by South Australian Police Minister Joe Szakcas.

“(For a) massive, heavy truck take out that infrastructure and come so close to homes is really scary, and I’m just really thankful this wasn’t worse than it was,” he told 9News.

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Mr Brackley said it was “miraculous no one was killed” on the road, footpath, or front yards when the truck barrelled down the usually-busy Hampstead Road – which is part of a major arterial route through the eastern suburbs of Adelaide.

“The truck was making a hell of a noise when I got there and I was thinking, could it blow up? Or what could happen?” Mr Brackley said.

The collision impacted gas and water lines in the area, and days later residents are still faced with a massive clean-up on their hands.

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