Shattered and heartbroken but 'lucky to be alive'
Cape Town - The family of a man and his son, who were horrifically killed on the N1 last week, say they would have been inside the car that was crushed under the weight of the overturned truck.
Alan Ryke, 43, his stepson Nicolas Brits, 28, as well as truck driver Daniel Omar died when the container 30-ton truck flipped on the Koeberg Interchange last Wednesday morning.
Myrtle Ryke, 48, the wife and mother of the two men who died in the white Ford Escort, says she and her remaining son Stephanus Brits, 25, were supposed to be in the same car that morning.
Read: Two killed in N1 container truck crash
Myrtle, whose life has been shattered by the tragedy, says the Bellville family now has to get by without the two breadwinners in her home.
“Myself and Stephanus are lucky to be alive because we would have also been dead in that vehicle now,” Myrtle says.
Alan Ryke, 43
“I was going to take the drive along with them while my [deceased] son, Nicolas, was going to do an electrical job in Camps Bay."
“Stephanus was also going to join us, but he went to Vredenburg."
“I was visiting my friend next door and that saved me from driving with them.”
Myrtle says she and Alan were only married for a year and three months.
“He left home at 9am and I just missed him when I returned home from next door,” she says.
Nicolas Brits, 28
“I tried calling him, but he wasn’t answering and I thought perhaps he was already working because he doesn’t like to be disturbed while he works."
“Later a policeman from Maitland called me to say I have to come see them."
“When me and my sister got to the scene, what we saw shocked us."
“The impact pushed their bodies backwards and crushed them flat."
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“They were suffocated and crushed, the container was so heavy it caused the car’s tyres to burst."
“I am left unable to bury them this Saturday at the Bikers Church in Brackenfell."
“This will be a difficult time for me and I want to appeal to the public to help me bury them by donating something towards the funeral.”
Stephanus told the Daily Voice that he learnt about the accident via social media.
“My ex-fiancée sent me an image that she found of a car that was crushed by a container,” he says.
“When I zoomed in on the picture, I saw the bumper with the number plate showing it’s my brother and stepfather’s car.
“My brother was a model and also a barman and waiter for various companies.”
Stephanus says his last moments shared with his brother were memorable.
“We recorded a video in that car during the week where we sang Every Breath You Take and he was smiling throughout,” he says.
Father of two, Daniel, who was employed by Container Domestic Services, died in hospital.
If you would like to assist Myrtle, contact her on 081 461 0718.