Boksburg family of four killed in accident near Richards Bay

The couple had been together 11 years and celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary on March 1.

April 4, 2021

Lana O 2 minutes read

An Easter weekend trip to Richards Bay ended in tragedy for an Impala Park family when they were killed in a head-on collision 160km from their destination on Thursday night (April 1).

Clive (32), Claudia (25), Leané (5) and Aiden (4) Janse van Rensburg died on impact when a vehicle hit their Renault head-on on the N2 at around 9:30pm.

Claudia’s sister, Natasha Wright, who lives in Kriel, Mpumalanga, told the Advertiser her sister and her family had met up with their mom, dad and gran in Kriel on Thursday and they all left at around 5:30pm, in two vehicles, to travel to their mom’s sister, in Richards Bay.

“My mom, dad and gran were travelling in a bakkie ahead of Claudia and her family. When a car suddenly headed straight for the bakkie my dad tried to swerve but the car still hit the bakkie, causing slight damage, and then crashed head-on into Claudia’s car. They were all killed on impact.” Natasha said her dad phoned her at around 9:45pm to tell her about the tragedy.

“We immediately left home for the accident scene and arrived there a little after 2:30am. The scene was being cleared and the two vehicles involved had been loaded onto a truck,” she said.

“We have no information about the vehicle which caused the accident or about the driver. There is an investigation being conducted but we have no detail at the moment.

“Many people stopped to help after the accident and the police were also apparently on the scene quite quickly. My family said the staff from the mortuary service which took the bodies away were very respectful and handled the scene and the bodies with great care, and we would like to thank them for that.”

The family has not yet concluded funeral arrangements. Clive and Claudia, who celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary on March 1, had been a couple for 11 years.

He was an electrician and Claudia cared for their children at home. Family friend Alicia van der Merwe described her best friend, Claudia, as a mom in a million and a wonderful wife to her husband, Clive.

“I always said if I had a family we should love each other the way Claudia and her family love each other,” the heartbroken friend told the Advertiser.

“I loved her and her family so much and we loved each other’s children like they were our own. I wish I had the chance to hug each of them once more.”

A message from Alicia: “Ek kan vir seker sê julle engel vlerkies was reg, maar my hart was glad nie reg vir seer nie. Ek gaan julle vreeslik mis my Claudz en vir my ‘rooikop’ Nay, ‘skaapie’ Aiden en ‘liester’ Clive.”

A recent photo of Claudia Janse van Rensburg (left) with her best friend, Alicia van der Merwe, and her little boy, Roanco.

A message Clive posted on his Facebook page on March 1: Happy Anniversary my Sexy EngelQ. Dankie vir die vrou jy is vir my en die gooie mamma vir my kiddies. Van dag is ons n volla 7 jaar getroud en er gister al 11 jaar saam. Jy bly die lig in my lewe en jou liefte loop altyd oor. Dankie dat jy met my st**nt kan op geskep sit en my altyd uit donker plekke kan bring. Ek glo in my hart en ek sien ons met mekaar tot die dag ons koppe neer le. Lief vir jou om die werld my sexy EngelQ.