Accident victim says thank you to ‘guardian angels’

CATHERINE Swales who was involved in an accident along Hillhead Drive in Mount Edgecombe two weeks ago, has come forward to thank her ‘guardian angels’ who assisted her in getting out of her vehicle and contacting the necessary emergency personnel. Swales, who is 28 weeks pregnant, was on her way home from work when the accident occurred. When paramedics arrived, Swales was stabilised at the scene before being rushed to the uMhlanga Hospital for further care and to monitor her baby’s heartbeat.

Speaking to the Northglen News on her daughter’s behalf, Jenni Theron, said when she got to the hospital, emergency workers were in the process of handing over Swales’s case to the hospital staff.

The two medics, Anneline Hansraj and Joshlyn Prenjith, were extremely helpful and calm during the entire ordeal. “My daughter sustained lots of tissue damage and is still in quite a lot of pain but we are so grateful for all those who assisted. Catherine said when the accident happened, people from the nearby business park all rushed out to assist.

“A lady, whose name we didn’t get, stayed and prayed with Catherine. Someone assisted by giving her water and when the medics arrived, they were calm and it helped to keep Catherine calm. At the hospital, they didn’t just hand over and leave, they stayed behind to make sure my daughter was fine,” Theron said.

Having driven past accident scenes in the past, Theron said what had happened to Swales has changed how she will react to future accidents.

“You never know how doing something as small as talking to the victim or giving them a glass of water, can help them. Without the support of each person who came to her aid, she would’ve been so stressed. Everyone worked quickly to help her,” Theron added.

VIP Medical and Rescue spokesman, Jareth Naidoo, said the medics who attended to the scene; Hansraj, Prenjith and volunteer Kevin Munsamy, were ‘simply doing their job’.

“Our guys are dedicated to their work. We make sure that we are always available to assist and when our medics attended to the scene, they were just doing what was required of them. We acknowledge the Swales and Theron family’s kind words and thank them for it,” he said.

For Theron, the helpful attitude of all those involved in her daughter’s rescue efforts, is a stark reminder that there still are good people in the world.