The De Jagers almost finished their Friday shopping trip when a falling tree smashed their vehicle on 30 August.
Kobus and Moneen de Jager made their last stop at the Witpoortjie Pharmacy on Generaal Pienaar Street at around 11am. Kobus, who recently had surgery to his shoulder, stayed in the Tata Indica parked in front of the Witpoortjie Spar. He was busy speaking to street vendor Peter Williams when they heard a snap and saw the tree falling on the right-hand side of the vehicle, smashing the windscreen.
De Jager says that the other damage he could see on the car includes dents in the roof and on the driver-side door. Luckily, he was sitting in the passenger seat.
“I saw the tree falling and I was worried about my car.
“I’m just so thankful that my wife wasn’t in the car at the time,” De Jager says, looking at the shattered glass in the vehicle.
The couple stays in Mindalore and was offered a lift home by the Help24 tow truck that arrived on scene minutes later.
JMPD officers Combrinck and Du Toit were in the vicinity and came over to offer assistance, saying that City Parks employees have been scraping teams together to deal with fallen trees in the Roodepoort area on Friday, but that they might come out to Generaal Pienaar Street later the afternoon.
Eli Kelly Makgamo’s vehicle, a red Fiat Uno, was also affected by the incident, having been scratched on the front passenger door and hood.
“I hurt my shoulder slightly when I jumped out of the car,” De Jager said.
The Tata vehicle was towed away by 12 noon.
