A plan to move a fridge using only a ute and the grasp of a willing mate has gone belly-up at Balgownie, and so has the mate.
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The helper fell slapstick-style from the back of a Holden Rodeo after the driver spotted police and swerved under a tree, where a low-lying branch collected the fridge.
In-car police camera was rolling as the fridge fell towards the man tasked with holding it.
The man, 27, from Woonona, then fell off the tray and onto the road, landing on his back, according to the South Coast’s Highway Patrol commander, Senior Sergeant Andrew Palmowski.
“He was very lucky he didn’t get anything worse than maybe a bit of wind knocked out of him,” he said.
“It’s clearly a dangerous way in which to transport any goods that haven’t been properly secured. The driver endangered not only himself and his mate, but also any pedestrians who may have been in the area when the fridge got knocked over.”
The ute was travelling at about 10-15km/h when it was spotted by Highway Patrol police in residential Balgownie about 3.30pm on Anzac Day.
The driver, a 25-year-old Unanderra man, was among 284 people issued infringements in the Wollongong and Lake Illawarra command areas throughout the state-wide Anzac period police operation, Go Slow. Of these fines, 156 were for speeding.
The ute driver was issued infringements for unsecured load and drive with passenger not enclosed.
His unlucky friend received a fine for travelling on an unsecured part of vehicle.