Durban cycling accident victim remembered for warm personality

A budding Iron Man athlete was killed when a car ploughed into a group of 11 cyclists at Frasers on Saturday morning.

The young Durban man, Max du Plooy (23), was the fourth cyclist to die on North Coast roads in the past 6 months.

The riders, all members of the Wild Dogs cycling club, were on the R102 near Frasers at about 9am when they saw an oncoming car, overtaking 4 other cars, heading straight for them.

Most took evasive action by swerving into the sugar cane, but the car struck Du Plooy and three other cyclists who were unable to get out of the way in time.

At first everyone had been accounted for except Du Plooy, and club leader Haig Gibb launched a search for him after only being able to find his bike.

“We thought that maybe he had gone down a nearby embankment, but soon occupants from the car that hit us started shouting to get our attention,” said Gibb, who then saw Max’s helmet on the side of the road. Du Plooy was trapped under the car.

“We were hoping that Max was just unconscious as we attempted to lift the car off of him,” said Gibb, but paramedics who arrived at the scene said he would probably have died instantly.

The Clifton College graduate joined the Wild Dogs club about 2 months ago.

“Max was the nicest guy, always laughing and joking. He was training for the 2022 Iron Man,” said Gibb.

“Many of our group are now second-guessing whether they want to keep cycling,” said Gibb.

Clifton College posted a tribute to Du Plooy, a 2016 graduate, on its social media site.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his parents Mark and Laura, his brother Theo and his sister, Georgina, his girlfriend Sarah and his many, many friends,” the school said.

Du Plooy’s former teacher, Karl Bresler, said, “Max was one of those people who always made you comfortable in his presence. Whether it was his engaging smile, or the way he gave you his full attention when you spoke with him, it was a pleasure to be in his company.”

The cycling community has reacted with outrage over what has been called a senseless, criminal act.

Gill von Buddenbrock of the Sugar Rush Park cycling venue at Compensation said that roads lacked proper cycling infrastructure.

She said that while they did not advocate road cycling, she understood that training for certain events meant making use of the roads.

“Cyclists should be able to safely train for events. Unfortunately how prepared you are does not matter in a situation like this and it has seen many cyclists stick to training on mountain-biking routes.”

A case of culpable homicide is being investigated by Tongaat Saps.

Provincial Saps has not confirmed whether the driver of the car has been arrested.