‘Car Surfer’ killed after climbing moving vehicle sunroof, falling from roof and breaking his neck in South Africa
- Shocking 25-second video shows the man on top of a Volkswagen Polo in Durban
- He reportedly broke his neck and died instantly from the fall
A man has been killed after climbing the roof hatch of a mobile surfing vehicle before falling from the roof and breaking his neck in South Africa.
The gruesome 25-second video captured by a passenger in another car shows the soon-to-be victim climbing onto the roof of a Volkswagen Polo in Durban.
He raised himself to his feet and pointed his arms at the sky, but after only five seconds he fell on his butt and somersaulted from the back of the car to his death.
The car landed head first and reportedly broke his neck and he died instantly.
Some responded with sympathy, while others said his stupidity cost him his life in the more than 850 comments on Arrive Alive where the video went viral.
On the roof of the car, the man raised himself to his feet and pointed his arms at the sky, but after only five seconds he fell onto his bottom and flipped onto his back to his death.
When the man, who was barefoot and dressed in white slacks and a maroon shirt, rose to his feet on the roof of a Volkswagen Polo, the driver of the car behind him said, “I don’t know what that ouch is doing.”
“He’s out of his mind, out of his mind.”
The car then swings up and catches the side of the roof before dropping back off the rear and heading headfirst into the road.
He slammed his head on the ground causing almost certain instant death, and those on the scene said, citing local sources, that the victim had cut his throat.
The driver blows the horn and says, ‘Oh, I’ve been waiting for that. I’ve been waiting for that’.
The man’s body lies motionless on the road after the sickening noise when his head hit the ground and a Volkswagen Polo stopped thirty yards down the road.
“Darwin Prize Champion 2023,” Heather Greenway said on the website.
Another person posted: “At least he isn’t around anymore to pass his idiocy on to his offspring.”
The car landed head first and reportedly broke his neck and he died instantly
“Yes it was stupid to do,” wrote Jenny Khoury, “but honestly everyone did something stupid in our youth and happily lived to tell the tale.
“This young man’s family is in small parts and my sympathy is with his family and I pray he rests in peace.”
“His ancestors were calling him and he answered,” Kellogg’s Ngobeni added.
Surfing involves riding on a surface while another person drives, which has resulted in many deaths and serious injuries since the craze began in the 1980s.
A study conducted in America alone in 2008 drawing on newspaper clippings showed that between 1990 and 2008, 58 motorcyclists died, and 42 sustained serious non-fatal injuries.
The South African Police Service’s media office said it could not trace back the tragic incident that took place in front of the Wellington Hotel in Bluff, Durban, late last week.
