The motorist who almost lost his life under the wheels of a runaway truck on the N1 on Tuesday has recounted how he cancelled his life insurance only hours earlier.

Absolom Morifi (49), said he cancelled his insurance worth R600 000 on Tuesday.

Morifi's Volkswagen Jetta bore the brunt of the impact of the runaway truck.

"I went to church on Sunday and felt convicted about not paying my tithes and cancelled my life insurance instead," Morifi said.

He said he felt "fine" about the accident, because he knew "that God saved me.

"When the truck started pushing my car towards this lane (the fast lane) and it started crumpling, I just had this urge to say 'Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!'."

Morifi had to be cut out his car, an older model VW Jetta, using the jaws of life.

A miraculous escape

He walked out unscathed, his car flattened and against the steel barriers of the fast lane, nearly 600 metres from the Rivonia Road offramp.

"I have another car at home," Morifi said.

He said that on Tuesday morning, he and his wife argued over his decision to re-channel his life insurance premium of R1400 to the Rhema Church.

"She said I was being silly, but I said to her that it was something I had to do.

"When I spoke to her just now, I told her about the accident and that I wasn't injured and she said that now, she believes in my God."

This was not the only accident that Morifi experienced.

On 15 July, 2005, Morifi's car was struck by a bus in KwaZulu-Natal.

"I had a dream on that Sunday that a bus was falling from a hill.

"I met with the accident on that Monday.

"It seems I have a thing for meeting with accidents in July," he said, before being carted away by metro police who then reopened the N1 to traffic.

The Buccleuch interchange had cars queuing for about two kilometres from all entry points to the southern bypass.

Sapa