Two men who tried to dodge a ticket inspector were hit by an oncoming train as they jumped off a train, leaving one dead and the other injured.
And after the injured man was placed in an ambulance, he regained consciousness and tried to run away again.
Mutual train station in Pinelands was a hive of activity at 6pm on Wednesday as commuters stopped to look, while a few of them tried to assist officials.
Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott says: “Initial reports seem to indicate that two alleged defaulters fleeing ticket verifiers jumped from one platform to another when they were struck by an oncoming train.
“One was fatally injured, the other refused medical assistance.”
With their ambulance parked in the station’s parking lot, medics lifted the surviving man on a stretcher over the high railway fence and placed the man in the ambulance.
But the “unconscious” man shocked mense a few moments later when he climbed off the stretcher and ran off.
A commuter who was on the scene tells the Daily Voice: “Seconds after they placed him in the ambulance, he regained consciousness and unstrapped himself from the stretcher.
“The man then sat up on the stretcher and you could see he was a little disoriented as he had a knob on his forehead and a big gash there.
“And he got out and started walking away, the police officers who were still on the other side of the fence kept asking him to stay so that they could get a statement from him, and when he heard that, he started running.
“One person tried to chase after him but he was gone and everyone just packed up and police waited for the morgue van to arrive to take the dead man away.”
However, police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk says the man later came back: “The second victim did return and was transported to Vangate Hospital for treatment.”
“An inquest case was opened for investigation.”