A GLEN Anil resident has been hailed a hero after his quick thinking helped save a woman’s badly severed leg following a taxi accident last Monday. Deon van Neikerk was travelling on Armstrong Avenue (just before the La Lucia service station) when he saw an out-of-control taxi careen past him and crash into a bench at the taxi rank.
The 46-year-old said he remembers seeing a woman being flung backwards from the impact. At the time, van Neikerk had no idea about the severity of the injuries sustained by Ntombi Shaqa, who had been waiting for public transport to get home.
Shaqa’s right leg had taken the brunt of the impact and was severely injured in the incident.
“Initially I thought the taxi would hit my car and I swerved and I just heard this loud bang and looked back to see this woman fly backwards from the impact. I parked close by and ran to the scene of the accident. The accelerator of the taxi was jammed and the engine was revving at a rate of knots. It’s only when the revving stopped that the crowd were able to push the taxi away from Ntombi.
KZN: A video kindly submitted of the Red Cross Air Mercy Services helicopter ambulance taking off from a Pedestrian vehicle collision in La Lucia, North of Durban. @FatalMoves @_ArriveAlive @News24 @netstartraffic @EWNTraffic @ecrtraffic @northglennews @durbannorthnews pic.twitter.com/rzH0Mk5Ogm
— NETCARE 911 (@Netcare911_sa) November 12, 2018
“I remember seeing Ntombi’s leg and knowing how bad things were and I shouted to the crowd ‘does anyone have a tourniquet?’. I managed to get a stretchy that you use to tie down surfboards and another man who was standing in the crowd said he had black rope but couldn’t deal with the blood. So I took the items and made a makeshift tourniquet to try and stop the bleeding,” he explained.
Through the traumatic incident, Shaqa, who works at Food Lovers Market at La Lucia Mall, took hold of van Neikerk’s hand and wouldn’t let go until paramedics placed her in an ambulance to get her airlifted to hospital.
“I just concentrated on her the whole time I was there and I kept telling her to relax and calm down and that the ambulance was on its way. I can’t explain it but there is a connection a first responder makes with the victim and she wouldn’t let go of my hand throughout the ordeal. What astounded me is I’m normally very squeamish and can’t watch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy when there is blood around but I think in this case my adrenaline took over. I knew if I didn’t help her she would’ve bled out,” he said.
He also praised Carol van Tonder (Independent Crisis Team) and Gary Paul (Netcare 911) who arrived on scene shortly after.
“They are the real heroes, their manner in keeping everyone calm and how they handled the situation deserves praise. They also told me what a great job I was doing,” he said.
Through the trio’s efforts, surgeons at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital were able to successfully reattach Shaqa’s leg.
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