Car crash victim identified

A TRAGIC accident on Otto Volek Road in New Germany claimed the life of 26-year-old Jean Steyn in the early hours of the morning on Friday 10 January.

Steyn was travelling home from work when he lost control of his vehicle and hit a pole, which caused his vehicle to overturn and roll down an embankment. According to Steyn’s father, Ryan Steyn, the accident scene was discovered by a pedestrian at approximately 6am.

Russel Meiring, the emergency media and client liaison coordinator of ER24, said, “ER24 paramedics were dispatched to the scene at 6.30am. They discovered the vehicle lying on its roof. Upon examination of the scene, ER24 paramedics said the driver suffered major head and chest injuries. The state of the driver’s injuries suggested that he had been there for quite some time. The jaws of life equipment was used to free the man from the wreckage.” Meiring also reported that Steyn was declared dead on scene by the ER24 paramedics.

Ryan confirmed that his son was not wearing a seatbelt when the accident occurred. “We urge all residents to wear their seatbelts to avoid these unnecessary tragedies,” said Ryan.

Steyn is survived by his father, mother, Karin, and 13-year-old sister, Jenna. “Jean was in the early stages of a relationship and had told us over Christmas about a woman that he had recently started seeing. He didn’t get the opportunity to introduce her to us,” said Ryan.

Ryan described his son as a very happy and positive individual, who loved fishing, his family and friends.” We encourage residents who are considering buying flowers to leave at the accident scene to rather donate the money to the Open Door Crisis Centre. They came out to the scene and were very helpful. We wish to give back to these selfless and dedicated individuals,” said Ryan.

The cause of the incident is unknown and investigations are underway.