Excelsior mourns little Matthew

Gallery Update

GEORGE NEWS - Two-year-old Matthew Malgas who died in the bus accident on Heights Road on Saturday evening, is mourned by the entire Excelsior Rugby Club and Wittedrift community.

A bus with 35 occupants - the full Excelsior team with reserves (30 in total), two board members, the coach, bus driver and little Matthew - crashed down an embankment in the Wilderness area at about 18:00 on Saturday evening 21 May.

They were on their way home to Plettenberg Bay after a rugby match at Nelson Mandela University in Saasveld.

"They had apparently taken this road through the back of Wilderness to connect to the N2 as Madiba Drive is closed due to flood damage," said Ross Campbell, ER24 spokesperson.

Most of the passengers were treated by emergency services for a variety of injuries and several injured passengers were taken to George Hospital.

By Monday only one of the team's flanks, Lorenzo Windvogel, was still hospitalised for an arm injury.

The chairperson of Excelsior, Pastor Willem Malgas, was discharged on Monday from Knysna Provincial Hospital, while several others had follow-up appointments for medical care in Plettenberg Bay.

Trauma

Malgas is also little Matthew's grandfather and the toddler was with him at the time of the accident. According to team manager Martin Booysen, Malgas and his grandson, were thrown from the bus when it came crashing down Heights Road.

"Some occupants were flung from the vehicle, others were inside," said a traumatised Booysen earlier this week.

FOTOGALERY: Op die toneel van Wilderness-busramp

According to Campbell, the bus was found lying on its side at an angle of about 80 degrees along an embankment after it had crashed through the deck of a private residence just below Heights Road.

"A toddler [Matthew] was unfortunately found to have suffered fatal injuries and declared dead on arrival by Metro EMS. Two men in their thirties were found trapped in the vehicle and in a critical condition. They required Advanced Life Support interventions and their extraction took a long, combined effort led by Metro Rescue. ER24 then transported them to George Provincial Hospital."

Staying calm

Booysen said a taxi with supporters drove in front of the bus, and he drove in his private vehicle in front of them.

"When the accident happened I knew I had to stay calm, because someone needs to take control of the situation. I immediately started drafting a list of the occupants of the bus, with names and details. I also had to keep tabs on who was driving in which ambulance."

According to Booysen the bus driver experienced brake failure while going down Heights Road.

"He stepped on the brakes, but suddenly there were no brakes. He was on a turn and it was impossible for him to make the turn. We would never have taken this route if Madiba Drive was open. The N2 has always been our first option."

"This is special because it's with his dad, [Jacques McLean, right] and grandpa [Willem Malgas, left]. He was his grandfather's everything. His grandfather is so broken about Matthew, that's the name he gave him: Matthew - God's gift." - Lucretia Malgas, Matthew's mother.

Huge loss

Booysen said Matthew's death is a huge loss to all. The little boy has always been present at all the Saturday matches, since most of his family was involved in the club.

"His mom, Lucretia Malgas, is the secretary; his dad, Jacques McClean, is a team member and his grandpa is the chairperson. With our last home game every player had the opportunity to walk on the field with their child. Matthew went with his dad. He was always so excited about rugby, and would shout, 'Tackle, tackle, tackle!' He just wanted to kick rugby balls."

Ben Brinkhuis, SWD Rugby's newly elected president, extended his condolences to little Matthew's family. He said SWD will assist Excelsior on an emotional level, making sure they are given a chance to recover in light of the coastal league matches.

PHOTO GALLERY: Bus accident claims life of 2-year-old Matthew

Booysen was full of praise for the dedication of the emergency services who helped with the rescue operation, including the George Municipality Fire Department, provincial and George traffic departments, ER24, Metro Rescue, Metro EMS, two other private emergency medical services and the police.

He extended a special thanks to Wittedrift High School and Excelsior's sponsor, Sean Jannon of Buco Plettenberg Bay, for immediately driving from Plettenberg Bay to assist on the scene.

Celebrating Matthew Willem Malgas' second birthday on 17 December 2021. From left are Lucretia Malgas (mother), Willem Malgas (grandpa), Felicity Malgas (grandma), Flora McLean (grandma) and Jacques McLean (dad).