An Auckland truck driver who saved a woman’s life after she fell onto the Southern Motorway has reported a wave of racist abuse in the aftermath of his heroic act, The New Zealand Herald reported.
The incident last Tuesday evening brought southbound traffic to a halt as police closed all lanes near the Penrose Rd overbridge during rush hour.
Prabhjot Singh, a truck driver for SRL Cargo, recalled that around 4:15 p.m., the traffic was “pretty heavy,” and he was driving at about 60 km/h when he noticed police vehicles approaching with their sirens on. He spotted an electronic sign alerting drivers to a pedestrian on the motorway.
“I passed the Ellerslie on-ramp and saw some police cars behind me with their sirens on and then saw a sign on the Penrose Rd overbridge which said there was a pedestrian on the motorway and to be careful,” he said.
Just as he was approaching the bridge, Singh saw the woman holding onto the overbridge railing, moments away from falling. He quickly braked, stopping his truck just below the bridge.
“I couldn’t see her from far away because some bushes were blocking where she was,” he said. “If I had not looked in my mirrors and seen the police cars or the woman, I would have been going 60 km/h and she would have been chopped into pieces.”
Once Singh had stopped, the woman fell, landing between the bridge and his container before eventually dropping onto the motorway. Emergency responders rushed to her and began administering CPR.
“The only thing I wanted to know is if she would survive,” Singh shared. The incident left him shaken, but he chose to return to work the next day rather than relive it at home. “I’ve seen some bad things in my life, but in that moment I was shaken,” Herald quoted Singh.
Following the incident, a video was posted to TikTok showing Singh’s truck stopped under the overbridge and emergency vehicles on-site. Many viewers wrongly speculated that the truck had collided with the bridge, leading to a torrent of racist comments.
“Somebody sent me the video and I had a look at the comments,” Singh said. “A few people knew what had happened, but most people didn’t.”
Reflecting on the hateful remarks, Singh said, “The thing is everyone does it, so if I keep thinking about that I’m not going to get very far. We go under that bridge every day... they don’t know what actually happened, but I do.”
An SRL Cargo spokesperson clarified that several customers had called the company, concerned that the truck had hit the bridge, but they were reassured upon learning the true story. “When they found out the story, it wasn’t an issue,” the spokesperson said, adding that Singh’s quick thinking had indeed saved a life.
The incident caused significant delays, with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency reporting that State Highway 1 was closed between the Ellerslie Panmure Highway and South Eastern Highway. Google Maps showed southbound traffic backed up to Spaghetti Junction and beyond, highlighting the scale of the road closure and traffic disruption.