Star athlete in ICU after being pushed in front of moving taxi

Former Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld High School learner and star athlete, Dany Toko, is fighting for his life in ICU after being hit by a minibus taxi on CR Swart Drive near Barnard Stadium on Thursday evening, reported the Kempton Express. 

The 400m and 800m athlete was recently awarded the runner-up prize for Sportsman of the Year for 2018 in the district.

The incident occurred at 4.40pm when Toko was on his way to training at the stadium.

Dr Mariet Geyer, teacher at Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld High School and Toko’s athletics mentor, said he was hit by the taxi while he was being robbed.

“Two men approached him while he was walking and demanded he gave them his cell phone,” said Geyer.

“Toko refused and they started fighting him until one of them pushed him in front of a moving minibus taxi.”

A fellow athlete, Lea Mcata, arrived minutes after the accident.

“On my way to the stadium, I saw people being chased. As I got closer, I realised more people were surrounding someone else,” said Mcata.

“I went to the crowd and saw Toko lying on the ground. I was shocked and immediately ran to the stadium to call my coach.”

Mcata didn’t find her coach at the stadium and returned to the scene, where she found him.

The incident has traumatised Mcata.

“This is very painful and hard. I have flashbacks every time I close my eyes,” Mcata told Express while crying.

“All of this is hard to deal with and I can’t get the image out of my mind.”

Express spoke to Kempton Park SAPS but hadn’t received comment at the time of publishing.

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