[VIDEO] Seaview electrocution: Retracing Kyle’s (11) last steps
The father of the Seaview child, who died while playing in a natural area near his home after being electrocuted, is adamant that the grief he is feeling is only going to serve to embolden him to take on a battle against the scourge of illegal electrical connections.
AS a family lays their child to rest today, a father has already begun actively seeking answers to questions which were raised following the death of his 11-year-old son, last weekend.
Wayne O’Reilly, father of Kyle, said he feels his son’s death has been a wake-up call for him to take on a mission to ensure that no other child dies in the same way that his did.
“No family should have to go through this, no child should have to lose their life just for being a child and playing with their friends. He was a sensible child and wouldn’t have done anything that seemed dangerous. Many of these wires look just like a piece of reed or a root,” he said. “Anyone who saw it might pick it up.”
ALSO READ: Grieving parents of electrocuted 11-year-old Seaview boy want answers
Wayne’s determination to take up the cudgels for those who cannot, or will not, speak out about the danger of illegal, electrical connections is, he hastened to add, not about himself, but about the safety of others.
“This isn’t about me, this is about Kyle, he was just a child and he died unnecessarily,” he said last week.
“I am not giving up on this investigation into who is ultimately responsible for the death of my child,” he said.
Retracing their steps
Over the weekend before he laid his child to rest, Wayne, along with members of the Bellair CPF and another man accompanied a reporter from the Queensburgh News through the natural open space area with a walking path leading from the suburb where Kyle lived with his mother, down to the river where he lost his life.
https://www.facebook.com/QueensburghNews/videos/583320729179341/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCslvA4Ppa0r6wcy5Hm5gAxYTahQY7073ZWbM3e1rc_UgCDmFHMr-m_E-sKWmJM0o2E8MxOV-vp45stqtEOCec61ug7bmt2cS3e__ViCEpUXQ1lti2spjcEN095k-8EXmfTJ90f3kFxB_5xhBhi_sTxd5Hd9XaxpeNljyApu_oNDrAzeBVNQEs-gO_lAXOuQhptJjW-2hDBuBg4Ixu3GTOM9ne_27aP-WwRx8hiDOvaHFVuF7Ej52hmuFzLFGuHmB5EmM-coSLLJDy_hf7N2iVX3JGqHJsCarmoEdV6hAoCVJIAXwPpXgZJh0vbGiXmjUSzRI28xFokh63MhAoOLH3uht1-2xvI5Bk&__tn__=-R
Wayne said while every time a death like this occurred, it highlighted the danger of illegal connections, often the attention died down soon after the victim was laid to rest.
“Coming down here today I can see why my child would have wanted to be here,” said Wayne during the walk.
“It is so beautiful here, and Kyle loved being in nature and exploring. It’s heartbreaking that an area such as this, which is set aside and designed for the public to use, isn’t a safe place for children.”
ALSO READ: About D’Moss: Growing wildlife reserves on your verge
During the walk from the entrance to the D’Moss (Durban Metropolitan Open Space System) area on Elgin Road in Bellair, down to the banks of Umbilo River canal the men picked up evidence of cable theft and even cleared a few connected wires from branches where they had been attached to avoid them being pulled lose.
Under the bridge
After reaching the river, and going a little beyond it, the group reached the M7 highway, the group then walked a little along the M7 before crossing it to look under the bridge which allows the M7 to go over the Umbilo River Canal.
https://www.facebook.com/QueensburghNews/videos/848013992292094/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDibqOGXNgNIPyfheEQOjTGy7VlGUFXjdtBw1swBEe9hplnJx0bQ6BKlvzKAbNjridjitpTrBrlIanPT22jUvJ2jQVhRFUzxCITVvGPqFjEeJTGA_-kZnhD2whehpgFw42yajtUJE3oBOmCVfZ300sQPEgoIGSi5ne-LLOk8TsinVOg_MC1RMYxfc3C-vr4XS5jh2Ey7t_VjXswpzTo76LNFWWfdoOP0V9ZExqGTVfFmz2mKELk1IdEySddQnL3Qb6K0aNcB87K2S_0BNU21zahvcTxv6mmDLgIjkAJPndRcew-c24WIKgUlOJ7Tq-zUw2HCMVIjYFHGOfaiwu9QgMuMUfewtpNsD0&__tn__=-R
Under the bridge Wayne spoke about how much the bridges are used by people engaging in illicit activities such as cable theft, and seemingly created a space where people engaged in organised stripping of stolen cables.
“You can see by the size of this space and the amount of wires here that there are vast distances which these cables go. People just brush aside these matters and its happening right under our noses, under the streets we drive on,” said Wayne.
“Kyle would say this isn’t good, he would tell us to clear this all up, this is not right,” he said.
“My son is a gem to me and is a gem to the family. Those who have helped me out know about my son, and I had the opportunity to have him in my life every single day. So for Kyle’s sake I want to have everyone to remember all the other children who have also died,” he said, adding that he could feel his son’s spirit here.
Just before leaving the area under the bridge Wayne pulled a fishing lure out of his pocket, held it up and said,
“This is the sort of thing my child would have picked up and brought home as proof that there are fish in this river. He would have said to me, “Dad, I found that under the bridge, so I know there are fish in the river, because people are fishing there.” ”
“I would have been so proud to see how delighted he was to bring me something small like this that he knew I would like from his explorations,” said the father, choking back the emotion in his voice.
Follow the Queensburgh News facebook page for links to more stories about the Queensburgh area.
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
