Eyewitnesses sought in Centurion accident which claimed a young man’s life
Jacques Wagener was an honest, loving friend who kept his promises and adored nature and animals.
The mourning family of a young man who died in a vehicle collision in Rooihuiskraal, Centurion, is seeking eyewitnesses who might have seen what happened.
The accident, which claimed the life of 23-year-old Jacques Wagener, happened on Tuesday evening on the corner of Rooihuiskraal and Panorama roads around 20:15.
On the night of the accident, Wagener and two friends were taking a friend’s friend home when the collision took place.
“Jacques was helping his friend Lance move that day. That evening they were taking his friend home when the accident happened,” Jacques ’ mother Charné said.
She said when she arrived at the scene paramedics and police informed them that the other three passengers in her son’s vehicle were lucky to have survived the impact of the accident.
CERT-SA spokesperson, Ruan Heyns said the driver of the other car involved sustained moderate injuries.
Passengers Jaco Vermeulen and Lance Weideman were discharged from the hospital the day after the accident and a female passenger Alisha du Plessis, is still in hospital, said Wynand, Wagener’s father.
“Lance was Jacques’ best friend. We are thankful that their lives were spared. We are praying for the girl. She is in a stable condition,” he said.
Wagener’s parents described him as a person full of life who was an animal and nature lover.
“Jacques loved animals since he was a small boy. I always spoke of him as my bush/nature child,” Wynand said.
Jacques used to work as a lifeguard and loved swimming with sharks when the family used to live in Plettenberg Bay.
When he was 18 years old the family moved to Johannesburg. He worked as a game ranger at the Dinokeng nature reserve until eight months ago.
“He was part of the anti-poaching team. He would protect animals with all his heart. He always used to say he preferred animals to humans.
“Animals were attracted to Jacques,” his mother said.
His father said when they were outside on the farm and they heard birds chirping, Jacques would tell him what type of bird it was and everything about it.
Wagner was sociable, loyal and popular among his friends.
“If he promised to do something he would do everything to keep his promise,” Charné said.
Jacques leaves his brother, two sisters (Mieke 21, Kehnyn 19, Nina 17) and his parents. The parents said the siblings were taking their brother’s death hard as he was the oldest.
Wynand said the past eight months with his son back from being a game ranger and working for the family fibre business, were precious to him.
“It was great spending time with him and having all six of us in one house and being together during the lockdown.”
Jacques would have turned 24 this year.
Although the family still has unanswered questions, they will be laying their son to rest on Monday and will have virtual streaming for those who cannot attend the funeral due to the lockdown regulations.
Anyone who has information about the accident can contact Charné on 072-448-6080 or Wynand on 082-820-4715.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
