Driver escapes injury after lorry somersaults on A470
THIS was the scene after a lorry rolled down a bank – just metres away from people’s gardens.
The lorry’s driver had to be helped from his cab by a grandfather and his grandson after it apparently crashed through a barrier on the A470 and somersaulted into trees.
The A470 remained temporarily closed in both directions on Saturday after the truck left the carriageway near Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil.
Plumber Andrew Davies, 58, who lives close to the scene, said he had been loading his van before work with his 19-year-old grandson when he saw the vehicle between the Abercanaid and Abercynon roundabout.
He said: “We were loading the van up and heard the lorry hitting the barrier.
“It just ploughed through the barrier onto the embankment and took out a load of trees as it went down still going forward.”
Pictures from the incident show the lorry stuck on the steep embankment, yards away from Mr Davies’ garage and neighbouring gardens.
Mr Davies added: “The lorry went over once fairly quickly and then a second time.
“It came to a standstill when the trees stopped it.
“If the trees weren’t there it could have rolled down further towards the houses.”
After witnessing the incident both Mr Davies and his grandson helped the driver escape the vehicle while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
He said: “We were about 750 yards away so we ran up there.
“My grandson rang the emergency services and I kicked the windscreen through and asked the driver if he was hurt.
“As he wasn’t seriously hurt I broke the rest of the windscreen so I could get him out.
“He was in shock but he could function alright.
“I put my jacket on the windscreen so as not to hurt him and he came out under his own steam.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance said emergency services attended the scene but did not take the driver to hospital.
Mr Davies said: “We just took him inside so he could sit down and wait.
“I think he was quite lucky – he had one cut and that was it.”
A spokeswoman for South Wales Fire and Rescue said crews from Merthyr Tydfil and Abercynon attended the scene.
She said: “We received a call at 8.33am regarding a large goods vehicle.
“No person was trapped but the road is closed to await recovery.
“Police and highway officers are in attendance.
“We received a stop message at 10.03am.”
A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said highway officers and a recovery team were at the scene for a large part of the day.