POLOKWANE – Polokwane resident, Anton Nel and his colleague were on their way home when the bakkie they were traveling in caught fire after it collided with a sedan on the Louis Trichardt road on 28 December 2015.
Nel’s wife, Isabel explains what happened
“It is alleged that the sedan made an illegal U-turn and that is how the vehicles collided.
“After the vehicles collided they caught fire. The two passengers in the sedan died, but my husband and his colleague were saved by a traffic cop that was passing by. He was not on duty, but stopped and pulled my husband and his colleague out of the burning vehicle before it exploded. I am forever grateful,” Isabel said.
Nel was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mediclinic Limpopo and had to undergo an emergency operation as he had internal bleeding.
“The doctors stopped the bleeding and had to remove part of his colon and small intestine and his kidneys did not work. But he was awake and responsive. He receives dialyses daily,” Isabel said.
Nel had a relapse on Sunday, 3 January
“He started vomiting blood and it went into his lungs. He could not breathe, but the doctors responded quickly and saved his life. Now he is unconscious and on a ventilator because he cannot breathe on his own. The bleeding has not stopped and on Tuesday night the doctors did an endoscope to see where is the bleeding and what’s causing it.
“Please pray for my husband’s recovery. We have three children aged one, three and five years, we need him in our lives,” Isabel said.
Isabel and the rest of the family pleaded with residents to keep him in their prayers.
According to Isabel, Nel’s colleague sustained an injury to his spine, but is recovering well and will be released from hospital soon.
Kagiso Mootane, spokesperson for the department, said a case of reckless and negligent driving is being investigated.
N1 North closed for almost 2 hours after accident
