It was like Black Friday for “free” dop in Ottery on Wednesday after a beer truck lost its load.
Some Capetonians heading to work early on Wednesday morning enjoyed an early happy hour when the SA Breweries truck spilled beer all over Wetton Circle.
The truck driver apparently misjudged the sharp turn at the busy traffic
circle.
According to witnesses, the driver was not driving fast, and cases of beer “came crashing down like manna from heaven”.
The incident happened about 6.15am, and dozens of people rushed to the truck, helping themselves to the biere.
Some even had the cheek to call their friends on their cellphones to
come and get some booze, witnesses say.
Men could be seen carrying away two cases at a time, while others loaded beer into the boots of their cars. One man was spotted with a trolley load of beers.
Walter Cameron, 49, from Athlone, said he got to the circle shortly after the truck lost its load.
Seeing the frenzy, he parked his car and went over to have a closer look.
“The people were packing up everything they could carry. Some were loading the stuff into their cars and one guy even brought a trolley to fill up,” he says.
“Our people have no shame at all. Just because the stuff fell, it does not mean it is for the taking. That is the same as stealing.”
He says the driver had notified a security company whose staff arrived at the scene a short while later. They cordoned off the circle until all the beer was removed.
City of Cape Town Traffic Services spokesperson, Maxine Bezuidenhoudt, confirmed the incident.
“At 6.15am on Wednesday, an SAB truck overturned at Wetton Circle. Traffic was not that much affected. The traffic circle was closed until 7am” she said.
“The cleaning team came at 6.35am to clean up the debris on the road.”
Bezuidenhoudt said no injuries were reported.
It is not clear how much the looting will cost SAB.
The brewery did not reply to queries by Wednesday night.