FOURTEEN months after Mike and Debbie Berry laid their daughter, Ashley-Kaay Berry, (18) to rest, they will be attending the memorial service of her fiancé, 26-year-old Scott Buist.
Ashley-Kaay, together with Scott’s parents, Barry and Beverley Buist, were killed in a single-vehicle crash in Louisana in December 2015.
Scott Buist. Photo: Facebook
Now, the Berrys are shell-shocked by the unexpected death of their surrogate son, who broke his wrist during the first round of the Motorsport South Africa Liquorland National Enduro Championship in Dundee.
After the accident (on Saturday) Scott and two other riders were taken by ambulance to hospital where he underwent a successful surgery later that afternoon.
Mike said that when he came out of theater Scott was fine, sitting up in bed, laughing and joking with them and with Kyle Flanagan of Paddock who was in the next bed having suffered rib injuries.
The surgeon was happy with the operation and told Scott that he should be back on his bike in six weeks.
A happy Scott Buist. Photo: Facebook
Mike said that Scott was thrilled to hear this as hoped to take part in the Roof of Africa.
The Berrys left the hospital at about 9.45pm and travelled back to their accommodation in Dundee.
We left Scott in good spirits, he was laughing and joking and was relieved not to be in pain. We planned to return to the hospital at 10am to take him home, after the surgeon had checked on him.
However at 2.01am, Debbie received a phone call informing her that her ‘son’ was dead.
“The nurses had checked his vital signs at 11pm and 12am, but when they went back to him at 1am, he wasn’t breathing,” said Mike.
Debbie was beside herself. We couldn’t believe it and never expected anything like this to happen. It’s not like Scott had serious injuries, people break their wrists all the time, – Mike Berry
A distraught Mike said they had had almost their whole family wiped out. “If I had to show this to you as a film script, you would say it was too far-fetched, people wouldn’t believe it.”
Professor Steve Naidoo conducted a private post-mortem in Durban this week and his report states the results are ‘inconclusive’.
He will be sending blood and tissue samples to Cape Town for further analysis. “It’s a bit of a mystery and we will only know the results in a couple of weeks ,” said Mike.
Scott Buist doing one of the sport’s he loved the most, motor-cross endro racing.
He added that Prof Naidoo was however, not very optimistic that they would find a definite cause.
The news of Scott’s sudden death has shocked the whole South Coast community and tributes have poured in from around the country.
Scott had accomplished a lot in his short-lived career as an electrical engineer at Portland Packaging and, after his parents died he worked closely with Debbie to keep the business going.
They were a fantastic team. Debbie headed up the administration team and Scott was in charge of the workshop – Mike Berry
“Debbie will continue to run the business which employs 35 staff, as it is what Scott would have wanted.”
Mike said they had received hundreds of messages of condolence and incredible support from Scott’s customers and he thanked Pastor Larry Elliott and his wife, Mandy, of Rhema Church for their help during this time.
He described Scott as a friendly, outgoing, generous and very loyal person who always thought of everyone else. He was passionate about racing and loved scuba diving and spearfishing.
He added that they shared a special relationship with Scott. They called him ‘son’, and he called them ‘mom and dad’.
Scott Buist with his fiance Ashley-Kaay Berry. Photo: Facebook
Mike said Scott really loved his daughter, Ashley-Kaay and he never really got over her death.
She was the love of his life, his soulmate. He had so many plans which were wiped away. There were many days when Scott would confide in us, and we would blubber together.
Mike shared a light-hearted moment between Debbie and himself while travelling back home from Newcastle.
“I said to Debbie that I could imagine Ashley-Kaay meeting Scott at the pearly gates and saying to him: ‘About time, have you brought me any fags?’”
They laughed, as Scott hated Ashley-Kaay smoking.
Scott’s funeral takes place at the Rhema South Coast Family Church in Ramsgate this Saturday, February 25, at 2pm.
Refreshments will be served at the Ramsgate Lions’ Clubhouse in Glenmarkie Road after the service.
