Restaurant manager seriously injured in car accident

A restaurant manager River was seriously injured in a vehicle accident last week and is now in dire need of funds for her medical expenses.

Kelly van de Merwe (28), manager of Picasso’s Mexican Taqueria, is in the high care unit of Mediclinic Nelspruit after she and her fiancé, Jaco Bruwer (28), were in a car accident on Wednesday September 22.

Bruwer told Lowvelder that the couple went to watch the sunset on the day. “We live next to Oliver’s in White River. We drove to Pine Lake to go and watch the sunset together. On our way home it got dark and it was drizzling lightly. There is a sharp turn in the road. I don’t exactly recall what happened, but the car left the road and we hit a tree.”

Van de Merwe sustained several injuries. Her pelvis was broken in various places, her nose was broken and her bladder burst.

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Bruwer had minimal injuries, including concussion.  On Sunday September 26, Van de Merwe was rushed to receive emergency surgery due to a blockage in a pipe causing her kidneys to fail. The surgery was a success and her burst bladder was also repaired during the operation.

She would receive surgery on her broken pelvis on Wednesday September 29.

Bruwer said that Van de Merwe was in a stable condition, but remained in the high care unit. It was unclear how long she would have to stay in hospital. He said that her medical bills would amount to about half a million rand. Van de Merwe’s sister, Megan Haysom, started a GoGetFunding page in an attempt to gather funds to cover the medical costs. By Tuesday more than R70 000 had been raised.

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Van de Merwe’s parents, Peter and Joy, drove from their home in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape to support their daughter.

The family have called on the community to keep Van de Merwe in their prayers.