Mhlaba Memela

Mhlaba Memela

A young Durban woman cheated death when she was hit by a car and sustained serious head and abdominal injuries.

Phiwe Nzuza, 23, was knocked down by a vehicle on Wednesday when she tried to cross the busy M13 highway that links Pinetown with nearby residential areas west of Durban.

Nzuza was crossing the road when a white bakkie coming up the hill knocked her down.

Pedestrians apparently cross the busy highway on their way to work in the suburbs where they are employed as domestics.

An eyewitness told Sowetan that they normally crossed the road after alighting from taxis.

"It's scary to see a person being knocked down by a vehicle like that," she said.

"We have no choice but to cross there. We have no transport to take us to our places of work.

"Taxi drivers refuse to drop us off near our places of work because they carry other passengers who are going to town," she said.

ER24 spokesman Derrick Banks said Nzuza was taken to RK Khan Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

"Paramedics treated her on the scene before rushing her to hospital," Banks said.