The sudden death of Johan Fouché from Mbombela in Mpumalanga has left a his family heartbroken. He was hit by a Buscor bus on Tuesday while riding his bicycle to to work. The accident was described by eye-witnesses as horrific.

Johan’s wife, Paulie, said he had left their house on the Kaapsehoop Road at 05:30 for work in the CBD, but after his employer called her at 07:45 asking about his whereabouts, she started to suspect the worst.

“His boss called the local hospitals to check if he had been admitted. After all the hospitals confirmed that he had not been admitted, I was relieved to think that maybe he got held up somewhere. However, just after 08:00, Emer-G-Med staff came to the house to deliver the shocking news that my husband had been hit by a bus and died on the scene.”

Paulie said the most difficult part was to share the bad news with her four children and her husband’s mother. She described her husband as a man who always sacrificed his own needs to ensure that his kids had everything they needed.

“He was using a bicycle every day to commute to work, which was about 12km away, so he could provide for his family. He was gentle with us and made sure that we were happy. I lost a husband to whom I was married for 15 years, and now my four kids don’t have a father. It still feels like a bad dream that I wish someone could wake me up from and tell me he is still alive. Perhaps if someone could explain to me what happened at the accident, it would bring me closure,” Paulie said.

Funeral arrangements will only be finalised once Johan’s body has been released from pathology services.

He also leaves behind two brothers and his mother.

While sending their heartfelt condolences to the Fouché family on behalf of Buscor and its board, Dr Nora Fakude, executive chairperson of the company, dismissed allegations on social media that the driver was intoxicated when the accident occurred.

“As a norm and standard practice, Buscor has conducted and concluded its investigation to determine the cause of the accident, relying on the camera system installed in all Buscor buses. Firstly, Buscor wants to put it on record that the driver in question has extensive experience, having worked for the company as a driver since 2007. The driver was tested for alcohol, drugs and any other intoxicating substances before signing in for duty and was declared fit and eligible to drive,” said Fakude.

She also said the company used and relied on three critical technological devices when conducting its investigation. Following this accident, the Buscor team responsible for testing took the driver through another round of tests which again came back negative, proving undoubtedly that he was not under the influence of any kind of substance.

According to the spokesperson for the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Moeti Mmusi, the department is conducting its own investigations into the accident.