GEORGE NEWS - An elderly couple are glad to be alive after their car was engulfed in flames following an accident near the Gwaiing Bridge on the N2 between the Glentana turn-off and George on Tuesday 21 October.
The couple were travelling to George when the woman, who was driving, lost control of the car and it rolled down the embankment next to the highway.
Within seconds the vehicle started burning, and what happened next was nothing short of a miracle.
Sithembiso Fadana from George says he and his wife were driving from Mossel Bay behind the car when the accident happened.
"I suddenly saw a cloud of dust on the side of the road and realised it was a car that had left the road," he said on Wednesday morning.
"We pulled over and a second vehicle, a bakkie with workers on the back, stopped behind us. We could see the driver waving and calling for help. She was stuck in the car. A bunch of us ran down and found her inside with the door somewhat ajar. The car was starting to burn and she couldn't get out on her own," he said.
Not sure how long emergency services would take, and with the car already in flames, Fadana and the other men forced the door open some more and pulled the woman from the car.
"I know the rule: you're not supposed to pull someone from a crash without proper gear," he says, "but with the fire growing fast, I had to make a choice. Broken bones or death. I chose broken bones."
That's when they noticed a second person on the passenger seat. It was the driver's husband, and he was wearing a moon boot. Fadana grabbed hold of the man's arms, but he kept on slipping due to some blood from his injuries. He managed to pull the man to the driver's seat, from where another person helped Fadana get the man out of the car.
"By the grace of God, we managed to save them both. A second later it could have been a very tragic story."
The fire brigade and other emergency services arrived shortly afterwards, but according to Fadana, the car was then already engulfed in flames. "I don't think they would've made it if we left them until the emergency services arrived. Not that they took long, but the fire was just burning so fast."
The couple were treated on the scene and transported to hospital for further medical treatment. The exact cause of the accident has not been confirmed.
"I still can't believe I was part of pulling those people out of a burning car," Fadana says, still shaken by what he describes as one of the most intense moments of his life.
At the time of going to press, the identities of the couple had not yet been confirmed. The sister of the husband, Sandy Read (whose maiden name provided on her Facebook profile is Van der Merwe), posted on George Herald's Facebook page on Tuesday that her brother and sister-in-law had been admitted to Mediclinic.
She wrote: "We are so grateful to everyone who helped to get my brother and his wife out of their burning car. God is good. He sent those angels. They are now in Mediclinic."
Many readers also commented, wishing the couple a speedy recovery. They praised Fadana, his wife and the other helpers for their rescue effort.
Sithembiso Fadana was at the right place at the right time to help save the elderly couple from what could have been a huge tragedy.
The car burning next to the N2 near the Maalgate Bridge.‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
