PHOTOS Giraffe dies after head hits bridge just like Hangover 3 scene

A truck and trailer transporting two giraffes in South Africa earlier today inadvertently reenacted the gruesome Zach Galifianakis scene from Hangover 3 when one of the giraffes hit its head on a bridge and later died. Numerous commuters who saw the giraffes being transported snapped photos prior to the accident, and later described witnessing the horrific event.

South African TV and radio presenter Pabi Moloi posted the photo above on Twitter and wrote, “Look how low that bridge is and how tall the giraffes are. Who thought this one through? I wish I hadn’t seen this.” She later added a group of photos to instagram with a lengthy description:

Saw two giraffes being transported to Pretoria on the highway today. Not sure what the regulations are but as they were going under a normal highway bridge, I saw one of the giraffes hit its head. It was so terrible to see. Hope they got wherever they were going okay. 🙁

Pabi later spoke with Mashable about the incident, describing what it was like to witness the incident firsthand. She explains that she was traveling with her cousin when she say the giraffes and took out her phone to take pictures of the rare sight. “As I was getting shots the truck went under a bridge and suddenly one of the giraffes hit its head HARD on the concrete,” she says.

“The sound was so loud that my cousin, who was driving, asked me if there was someone shooting because she thought she’d heard a gunshot!” Pabi revealed, before adding, “That is how loud the impact was from the animal’s head smashing into the overhead bridge.”

Pabi continued: “We saw in the rear view mirror that the truck had moved to side of the road and had stopped. Only one giraffe was still standing. That sound of a skull being hit and the force with which it threw the giraffes head forward is something I won’t easily forget.”

Here’s another photo tweeted by @wingaterunners along with the caption, “Took this pic on the N1 earlier.Just heard one Giraffe passed away! Apparently due to head trauma! So sad!”

It was later confirmed that one of the giraffes had died. Rick Allan of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told South Africa’s Eye Witness News, “All we can ascertain at this stage is severe head trauma. We are continuing our investigation with the view to possibly lay criminal charges against those responsible.”

Allan added that the method in which the giraffes were transported were not compliant with guidelines. ““When you are transporting giraffes on an open road, their heads should be covered by a structure which is a specially designed container that looks like a crate,” he said.

The owner of the giraffes reportedly stated that the giraffe craned its neck prior to impact and added, “We went through lots of other bridges.”

Owner of the #giraffe that was killed after hitting head on bridge said animal craned his neck."We went through lots of other bridges"#citi

— Carla Coetzee (@CarlaCoet) July 31, 2014

Carla was asked if the method used was safe and she responded by writing, “they should be enclosed but SPCA say its not an enforced law. Driver had permit to transfer them.”