Update

GEORGE NEWS - "There was no time to swerve or brake."

These are the words of a survivor of Sunday's horrific Outeniqua Pass collision that claimed the lives of two Waboomskraal women.

Leslie Boyder (51) was travelling in the back of a double-cab Isuzu bakkie with his mother, Leona Ronetta Jacobsohn (68), and her close friend Marie van Zyl (72), when their vehicle collided with a Chrysler Crossfire near the Blanco turn-off on Sunday 1 November.

The three were on their way to buy dog food in George when tragedy struck.

Boyder, who lives on the same property in Waboomskraal as his mother and her husband, said the two women were inseparable. "They were as thick as thieves and did everything together."

He was sitting in the back seat, busy on his phone, while Van Zyl was in the front passenger seat. Jacobsohn was driving.

"The next moment, I heard Marie shout: 'Lee!' Then it was over. There was no time to swerve or brake or do anything."

According to Boyder, the oncoming Chrysler had crossed into their lane before the vehicles collided head-on.

He said both women were initially still alive after the collision. "Marie kept saying she wanted to get out of the bakkie, because she couldn't breathe. I was sitting on the floor in the back, and she leant her head on my shoulder."

Emergency personnel transported Van Zyl first, but she succumbed to her injuries. Jacobsohn was critically injured. She died in hospital on Monday afternoon, 2 November. Boyder escaped with scratches, a broken toe and injuries to his legs.

Jacobsohn, who had recently remarried, lived with her husband, Hennie, on Van Zyl's property. The two women had become close friends over the years.

Hennie was too overcome with grief to speak about his wife's death.

'Two mothers taken from us'

In an emotional Facebook post, Van Zyl's daughter, Thelmarie Neser, thanked her family, friends and the community for the overwhelming support they have received.

"Every message, phone call, prayer, thought and every bit of love and support that we have received means more to us than words can ever express," she wrote. She also expressed her condolences to Jacobsohn's family.

Neser, who lives with her family in Australia, was en route to George at the time of going to press.

'An angel in human form'

Van Zyl, who had lived in Waboomskraal for 36 years, was also remembered fondly by her friend of more than 50 years, Marga Massmann-van Rooyen.

Massmann-van Rooyen said Van Zyl was her best friend in George, and that their friendship dated back to when their husbands were helicopter pilots in the air force.

"She was an angel in human form, an uncut diamond who was willing to take on anything life threw at her. A Proverbs 31 woman," Massman-van Rooyen said. "She had an impeccable character, was always willing to help others, and nothing was ever too much trouble for her."

Driver faces two counts of culpable homicide

Meanwhile, Blaine Vosloo (30), the Chrysler's driver, appeared in the George Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 3 No-vember, facing two counts of culpable homicide.

The case was postponed until today, Thursday 5 November. However, Vosloo's bail application may not be heard today owing to a full court roll, as six other bail applications take priority.

He has been in custody since his arrest on the scene shortly after the accident. Vosloo was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The circumstances surrounding the collision remain under investigation.

Marie van Zyl and Marga Massmann-van Rooyen were very good friends. 

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