Five killed in accident on Schoemanskloof
The De Bruijne family had originally landed at Hoedspuit Airport on March 2, and were transported to Mpumalanga, where they visited the Kruger National Park and the Panorama Route.
Johnny O’Neil (45), who was killed when a truck hit a minibus shuttle and then his bakkie in Schoemankloof last week, has been described by his family as “a hero and a stalwart”.
He was among five people who died. Three were tourists from the Netherlands, and the last was the driver of their minibus shuttle, Sabelo Ndukula (28). Three other people from the Netherlands survived the accident and were taken to hospital.
O’Neil was well known in the Dullstroom area. His younger sister, Colleen Engelbrecht, described him as someone who touched so many people’s lives in the area, and said he would be greatly missed by the people with whom he had lived and worked.
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“My brother will be remembered for his love of barbecuing and the game reserve. Farming was part of his life. We recently celebrated his wedding, not knowing that he would leave us so soon.”
He was born in Dullstroom, lived his life there, matriculated at Middelburg Tech, and had been farming in the area his entire life. Meanwhile, two of the Dutch tourists who had survived the accident, have been released from hospital, and the third was transferred to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg.
The De Bruijne family had originally landed at Hoedspuit Airport on March 2, and were transported to Mpumalanga, where they visited the Kruger National Park and the Panorama Route.
Before the accident, they were on their way to Gauteng, where they planned to spend their last night before heading back to their home country.
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The Mpumalanga Tourism Parks Agency spokesperson, Kholofelo Nkambule, said the tourists who were discharged, had identified the deceased at Temba Hospital’s morgue and were making arrangements to transfer them to their preferred private mortuary in Johannesburg.
“The family have requested that we give them privacy while they arrange the funeral of their loved ones. We are also not sure if they will bury them in South Africa or transport them back to their home country. As the agency, we have activated our tourism victim support programme to provide the necessary support,” she said.
The driver of the truck, who, according to the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, might face charges, is still fighting for his life in Rob Ferreira Hospital.
The driver of the minibus, Ndukula, will be laid to rest on Saturday in Lekazi, and O’Neil in his home town on Friday.
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