Man sustains serious injuries falling down culvert (graphic content)

BAPSFONTEIN resident Jaco Smit had to be hospitalised after falling down a stormwater drain culvert in August.

Smit fractured his eye socket and had to undergo surgery for the injury. He’ll also have to live without feeling in his left fingers.

On the night of the incident, he and a friend were rushing to an accident scene when he fell, hitting his head against the bricks on the side of the structure.

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The accident happened at about 7pm on August 8, on the corner of Pretoria Road and Magic Avenue.

Desiree Smit, his wife, explains to EXPRESS what happened:

“There was a head-on collision with two cars and my husband and his friend went to see if they could help anyone involved in the accident. My husband went through the field and did not see there was a hole and he fell, hitting his head against the bricks on the side,” Smit said.

“He was out cold for at least five minutes,”

He had to go to hospital, he fractured his eye socket and he had to get surgery. They had to fix the bone on top of and underneath the eye.

“What upsets us most is that there was no sign of any sort to say that there is a hole. It’s the municipality’s responsibility to make sure there is some sort of signage or marks around the hole to warn the community – but there was nothing,” Smit expressed.

Smit has healed slowly over time, but now has to live with the after-effects of the accident, which include a shifted neck vertebrae.

“My husband’s finger points were numb on his left hand, which we consulted a doctor about. The doctor took scans of his neck and found that the vertebrae had moved as a result of the fall,” Smit explained.

The doctor advised them that this could be fixed, but Smit would have to live with a stiff neck for the rest of his life. If he doesn’t get it fixed, he’d have to learn to live with his fingers being numb, which he opted for instead.