Mom distraught at photos of dead daughter at crash scene

The Butcher family has been left heartbroken after receiving photos of their daughter lying dead on an accident scene – photos which were also shared on emergency groups.

“We received a message that Krysten had died and was lying in the Belfast morgue. After that we got photos of her lying dead on the scene from Krugersdorp residents, who also got it. The photos were shared on emergency groups, ” Divan Snyman said of his stepdaughter.

Krysten Butcher, 22, died in a motorcycle accident about 15km outside Belfast on the Dullstroom road on Monday just after 12pm.

The family later learned Krysten’s friend, Ollie (Evert) Coetzer, 25, had reportedly lost control of his motorcycle and hit an Audi.

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Krysten was pronounced dead at the scene and Ollie was picked up by Netcare helicopter.

The accident scene on Monday afternoon. Krysten Butcher died at the scene and Ollie Coetzer was airlifted to Witbank Provincial Hospital.

“The moment we heard about her death, we started calling hospitals in the hope that it could not be true. We kept hoping on the road that it was not her. ”

Krysten was reportedly picked up by Coetzer and they were on their way to Lydenburg where he has been working for the past year.

He and Krysten had known each other for some time, as both families come from Roodepoort.

“Krysten was a spontaneous person who loved life and her family. She was also very artistic.”

She is survived by her mother, stepfather, two sisters and grandparents.

Coetzer lost the lower part of his right leg in the accident and has since been treated in the intensive care unit of Witbank Hospital.

His sister, Erika, says they briefly saw him in the hospital before he was moved to the intensive care unit.

“He cannot remember anything about the accident. He knows that they were on the motorcycle and that he woke up in the hospital afterwards.”

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He lost a lot of blood at the scene and is still receiving blood in hospital.

“The upper part of the right leg that was left was also broken at the hip and his right forearm was broken. He has many open cuts and blue marks, but is mercifully not paralysed,” Erika said .

She said the family had not yet told Coetzer that Krysten had died.

Erika expressed her condolences to the Krysten family.

This article was translated from Afrikaans and republished from Mpumalanga News

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