Ward Four Councillor Ugan Chetty says he is lucky to be alive.
He and a colleague from Brokensha survived a car accident in August, which left him with severe back injuries and his colleague with a dislocated shoulder. Mr Chetty says that on August 7 the pair was returning from the vehicle testing station in Weenen when the accident occurred. “A taxi overtook another taxi on a blind rise and my colleague had to swerve to the left to avoid colliding with the taxi.
“The vehicle went down the embankment and crashed with rocks. He dislocated his shoulder and sustained whiplash and I had severe back injuries,” commented the councillor from his hospital room in Durban on Monday morning. He recalls feeling a searing pain and thinking “my back!” After prompt reaction from traffic officer Daniel Motseneng, the ambulance arrived on scene and Mr Chetty and his colleague were transported to hospital in Ladysmith. Mr Chetty was transferred to St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban where he received the inevitable news.
“After a MRI was done, it was found that a disc on my spine had moved to the left and was putting pressure on a nerve, which is why I lost feeling on my left leg,” he commented. After the initial surgery during which a prosthesis spinal disc was placed, Mr Chetty experienced complications and had to endure a painful second surgery. He says that he is recovering well, although he is in severe pain, which will take therapy to concur. He is walking around and gaining strength.
Mr Chetty is hopeful that he will be discharged this weekend, if the doctors are pleased with his recovery. The past three weeks in hospital has been trying. “It’s been very painful and I’ve been through hell,” he says.
Speaking about the accident, Mr Chetty says that the taxi driver who overtook on a blind rise displayed total arrogance and disregard for the road rules.
“He was playing Russian roulette with other people’s lives but I am grateful that we were not killed. I have had a time to reflect on life and I am grateful that I can walk, I could’ve severed my spinal cord and been paralysed,” he said. Mr Chetty would like to alert Ward Four residents that he is not ignoring their phone calls, his cellphone may be switched off from time to time. He would also like to thank Mr Motseneng from the Protection Services for his prompt and efficient help on the day of the accident.
