Residents save councillor
PARKTOWN – Ward 87 councillor Amanda Forsythe was aided by Parktown residents after an unfortunate ordeal.
City councillors are usually the ones rushing to the rescue when things go wrong, but the roles were reversed when Parktown residents went to save their Ward 87 councillor, Amanda Forsythe.
She was on her way back from a meeting in Braamfontein at around 8pm on 4 April when her car broke down at the traffic lights on the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and St Andrews Road in Parktown.
“The corner is known to be unsafe and several broken street lights made it feel more dangerous,” expressed Forsythe.
With only 3 percent battery life left on her phone, she had to carefully choose how to send out an SOS. Her first SOS went out to a WhatsApp group and then she sent a message to the Parkview Community Policing Forum group in the hope that police or security might have a vehicle in the area.
“Then it dawned on me to try my luck on the Parktown WhatsApp group – and my residents responded immediately,” explained Forsythe.
Within minutes, Thomas Meyer, a resident from Loch Avenue, arrived on the scene and he was followed by Cheryl Stevens. Next, a City of Johannesburg ambulance stopped to see if they could help and insisted on staying with their lights flashing to make sure the group was visible and safe, according to Forsythe.
“This really restored my faith in humanity – residents just came to my rescue, which is so amazing for a councillor because we are normally the ones who are looked to, to find solutions.”
A short while later, another resident, Lucy Chambers, arrived to see if she could help and then a Parkview police vehicle pulled up.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to start the car, Parkview police and residents pushed the car down the road to where it could be parked safely at the Meyer’s house. “It felt nice to help a fellow human being and I was more than happy to get out there and help,” commented Meyer.
Forsythe exclaimed, “What began as an awful situation, turned out to be an amazing experience! I was so incredibly touched by the support from my residents and I was so impressed by the care and dedication of the EMS paramedics and the Parkview police.”
Forsythe would like to thank the residents of Parktown, Solly Dolamo and Alfred Madingoane from EMS, and Constables Maluleke and Kgatla from Parkview police for their kindness.
Details: aforsythe@mweb.co.za
