Thys Strydom, Gerhard du Plooy and Dennis Carver were on their way back to Middelburg after meeting with Witbank 911 members in eMalahleni.

At around 22:00, whilst travelling on the N4 near the Middelburg Toll Plaza weighbridge, they noticed a truck with its hazards on, standing in the middle of the road.

The truck driver told them that another vehicle collided with the back of his truck and that it was flung into the central ridge between the two lanes on the highway. By the time they got to the Polo Vivo, it had burst into flames. An unconscious man was still stuck inside the car.

In a frantic rush, the men attempted to open the driver’s door but it was stuck. They managed to get to the man via the passenger door and pulled him to safety before his car was completely engulfed in flames.

Theo van Schalkwyk sustained multiple fractures and internal bleeding due to a lacerated aorta. His daughter, Bronwyn, who lives in Johannesburg, said that they were only notified about the accident on Wednesday. Her father was on his way to Booysensdal mine to give training.

She was informed by a tow-truck driver of how he was saved and immediately attempted to get hold of her father’s rescuers.

“I am so thankful for those guys. It truly is a miracle. If they didn’t save my dad, he would probably have been incinerated. The car was completely destroyed, they could not even get a number plate. My father would have disappeared and we would not know what happened to him. As soon as the fight for my dad’s life is over, I am definitely going to do something to thank them. I don’t know what yet, but something.”

Mr Van Schalkwyk is currently in the Milpark intensive care unit in a critical condition. His family wrote a letter to thank the men who saved his life.