‘Autosurfer’ dies after climbing through the sunroof of a moving vehicle, falling off the roof and breaking his neck in South Africa
- Shocking 25 second video shows the man on top of a Volkswagen Polo in Durban
- He allegedly broke his neck and died instantly from the fall
In South Africa, a man has died after climbing through the sunroof of a moving vehicle to surf in a car, falling off the roof and breaking his neck.
The gruesome 25-second video, taken by a passenger in another car, shows the soon-to-be victim getting onto the roof of a Volkswagen Polo in Durban.
He stood up and raised his arms to the sky, but after just five seconds he fell on his butt and somersaulted off the back of the car to his death.
The autosurfer landed head first and allegedly broke his neck and died instantly.
Some responded with sympathy, while others said his stupidity cost him his life in more than 850 comments on the Arrive Alive website when the video went viral.
On the roof of the car, the man stood up and raised his arms to the sky, but after only five seconds he fell on his behind and somersaulted off his back to his death.
When the man, who is barefoot and wearing white trousers and a maroon shirt, stepped onto the roof of the VW Polo, the driver of the vehicle behind him said, ‘I don’t know what that Okay is doing.
“He’s gone mad, gone mad.”
The autosurfer then teeters and grabs hold of the side of the roof before tumbling backwards off the rear of the car, head first toward the road.
He hits the ground head first with an impact that almost certainly caused instant death and those on the website citing local sources said the victim had broken his neck.
The driver honks his horn and says, “Yeah, that’s what I was waiting for. I was waiting for that’.
The man’s body lies motionless on the road, following the sound of the sickening thud as his head hits the ground and the VW Polo comes to a stop a hundred feet away.
Heather Greenway said on the website: ‘Darwin Award Champion 2023’.
Another person posted, “At least he’s not around anymore to pass his idiocy on to his posterity.”
The autosurfer landed head first and allegedly broke his neck and died instantly
Jenny Khoury wrote, “Yes, it was a stupid thing to do, but honestly, everyone in our childhood has done something stupid and luckily they were able to retell the story.
“This youngster’s family is in turmoil and my condolences to his family and I pray he rests in peace.”
Kellogs Ngobeni added, “His ancestors called him and he answered.”
Autosurfing involves riding on the roof while another person drives the car and has resulted in countless deaths and serious injuries since the craze began in the 1980s.
A 2008 US-only study based on newspaper clippings showed that between 1990 and 2008, 58 autosurfers had died and 42 suffered serious non-fatal injuries.
The South African Police news agency said it was unable to trace the tragic incident late last week just outside the Wellington Hotel in Bluff, Durban.