Four years after having lost their son Barry in a tragic motorcycle accident, the Van Tonder family from Westonaria still visits the site trying to find closure.
Barry died on 15 October 2010 while on his way home. It is believed that because it was dark and there were neither signage nor chevrons indicating a T- junction Barry went straight into the bushes. He smashed into four trees and landed metres away from his motorcycle. He died instantly.
All his family could find at the scene were one of his shoes and pieces of his motorbike.
In an interview with the herald last week the family expressed their heartache. They are but one of the many families to have lost a loved one on the R28 towards Vereeniging – now dubbed Death Road.
“I cannot tell you how difficult this is for us. We still miss Barry. Yes, we have moved on but we haven’t really found closure,” says Van Tonder.
She explains the events on that fateful night.
“I received a phone call that Barry had been in a serious accident. I couldn’t believe it so my son-in-law and I went to the police station to find out what had happened. Upon arrival, a police officer approached me and broke the news.” She adds that she found it difficult to respond and waited until her husband was informed.
It was only when she saw him that she broke down.
Meanwhile Barry’s son, also Barry, 14, recalls how close he and his baby brother were to their late father.
“Juante (12) and I were really close to our dad. We were shattered when we heard the news. I and my younger brother were visiting my mom in Carletonville at the time,” says Barry.
While they say that the journey has been rather hard for them, they are mindful of the fact that they are just one of the many families who have become victims of this road.
