Road accident puts matric exams on hold
Finals and tertiary studies will have to wait
She was as ready as can be to take on the next segment in her matric final exams as Charlene Courtney left home on her scooter on Friday morning to write her maths paper at Richards Bay Hoërskool.
But instead of entering the exam hall, she landed in Ngwelezane Hospital, the victim of collision with a car at an intersection on Via Richardia in Arboretum.
The 18-year-old Dynamic Kidz scholar sustained severe injuries including deep lacerations, a broken left femur and broken ligaments in her right ankle.
A four-hour long surgery was performed on Friday night to correct some of her leg injuries with pins, but according to friend Carol Hat, Charlene will now only be able to complete her exams in February next year.
‘I submitted a report from Netcare as well as a sick note from Charlene’s doctor at Ngwelezane Hospital to the Department of Education to excuse her and allow her to write the supplementary exams in February,’ says Hat.
‘The problem is that she won’t be able to start her tertiary studies since universities won’t wait for her matric results in March.
‘But despite all this and the excruciating pain from her injuries, she has managed to keep on smiling.
‘She is such a positive person.’
Hat says Courtney was discharged from hospital on Wednesday, but will need close attention and intensive care for her wounds.
‘We are hoping that she would have recuperated enough by the end of the month to write some of her last exams,’ Hat said.
‘It’s a terrible situation, but we are so grateful to the two doctors who stopped at the accident to help out as well as a detective who looked into the matter.’
No case has yet been opened at the Richards Bay SAPS.
