Memorial service to remember Westenburg friends
The death of two close friends from the Westenburg community on Sunday afternoon left residents in the neighbourhood in disbelief.
POLOKWANE – A combined memorial service for Fazel du Plessis (30) and Neil Heyns (27) will be held on tonight at the Westenburg Community Hall at 18:00 with a combined funeral service at the hall tomorrow at 08:00.
Four friends and members of the Westenburg V-Dub Crew, du Plessis, Heyns, Elvin Sanderson and Christopher Southern were underway to Polokwane on the N1 in two separate vehicles when the incident happened near the Nylplaza tollgate around 15:30.
The vehicle Du Plessis and Heyns were travelling in was involved in the accident and they both succumbed to their injuries.
Conroe du Plessis, Fazel’s brother, spoke to Review about the accident.
“I spoke to Fazel on the phone shortly before the accident and he was laughing and joking, excited about his new Volkswagen Citi Golf he bought that same day.
“The last time I heard my brother’s voice he was so happy and excited to be returning home for a braai that evening,” Du Plessis said.
He added when Southern called him a couple of minutes later to tell him about the accident he could not believe him and thought it might be a bad joke until he sent him a photo of the accident scene.
“I was on my way home with a friend and as I passed Nirvana I received the photo. I immediately drove as fast as I could to the accident scene,” he said.
He said when they neared the accident scene the road was blocked off as there had been another accident. “We left the car about 2 km from the accident scene and we ran towards the ambulances and police vehicles where the accident happened.
“When we arrived at the scene I looked at Neil’s car and saw one body lying in the road which is when I asked Elvin who it was. He told me the body I saw was Neil’s and that Fazel was still in the car. As traumatised as I was by the accident and the news I came to the realisation that Elvin and Christopher must be just as traumatised as they saw everything happen, and I hugged them.”
The Heyns family was just as traumatised as he and his wife, Erika, had married just a week before the accident.
Erika told Review she wasn’t immediately told that her husband had died in an accident.
“My mother called me and asked me if I had heard anything from Neil but I could tell something was wrong from the tone of her voice. When I asked her what was wrong she told me Neil was involved in an accident. Neil’s cousin came to fetch me and take me to the accident scene a few hours later. While on our way to the scene I overheard him telling family on the phone that Neil didn’t make it.
“That’s how I found out about my husband’s death as the cousin was under the impression that I already knew. It was indescribably painful to hear Neil was gone,” Erika said.
She said her husband will be remembered for his kind heart, jolly personality and being a people’s person. “He was an only child and could not bear to see anyone suffer. He would go out of his way to help someone,” she said.
Conroe said his brother will always be remembered as a humble person with a big heart who loved making jokes.
“He was the third born and had an eight-year-old son. He was always our mother’s blue-eyed boy; he was always calm and at peace with the world.”
