Johannesburg – A 16-month-old child was nearly hit by a truck on Thursday as he was walking along the N1 freeway near the Grasmere offramp, Gauteng traffic police said.

“It is suspected that the child was dropped on the freeway since there are no houses around,” spokesperson Busaphi Nxumalo said.

She said traffic police patrolling the N1 noticed a truck swerving and then saw a child walking on the freeway around 19:00.

He was taken by police to a place of safety while they searched for his mother, she said.

Meanwhile in KwaZulu-Natal, a two-year-old boy fell out of a shopping trolley in Shakas Head, on the north coast, while playing with friends and landed on his head, paramedics said.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said paramedics arrived at the scene around 17:00 on Thursday and found the child lying on the ground with life-threatening injuries.

He was placed on a ventilator and taken to a nearby hospital.

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