Boksburg man set alight in his vehicle
A 29-year-old man has been arrested and charged with arson and attempted murder, after he threw petrol over and set alight 22-year-old Boksburg resident, Garth du Preez.
On June 21, Garth was stopped at the intersection of Main Reef and Commando roads while metro officers allowed a funeral procession to pass.
Garth had just dropped off his girlfriend, Schantell van Jaarsveld, at a conference, and was on his way to a job interview.
As he stopped at the intersection, the accused threw a brick through his window and poured petrol over the Garth before setting him alight.
Gareth, Garth’s father, says he received a call from a motorist, stating that there had been an accident.
“I was advised by the metro police officers and paramedics to go to the Milpark Hospital’s burn unit,” says Gareth.
He adds that when he arrived at the hospital, his son came in with his face, chest and hands bandaged.
“They hadn’t sedated Garth yet, and he managed to tell me that the man just stood there and watched him burn.”
Gareth says that the trauma doctors worked on Garth, sedating him.
“We try and visit him everyday.”
On July 1, the doctors started with skin grafts on Garth’s right hand.
“He is currently on a ventilator, and the doctors want to insert a breathing tube into his throat. They feel he will make a full recovery, but will spend about six to eight weeks in the burn ICU,” says Gareth.
Schantell says she is still shocked.
“I can’t believe that anyone could do that to another human,” she says.
The man appeared in court in Sophiatown, on June 24, where he was denied bail.
On July 1, he appeared again where the case was referred to the regional court.
He is expected to appear again on July 8.
The reason for the attack is still unknown.
