Durban - The wailing of heartbroken mourners was all that broke the silence on Tuesday as the bodies of the young newlyweds killed in the horror crash on the South Coast at the weekend were taken to their respective homes before their cremation.
Ashlee and Deepika Reddy, who were from Durban but living in Joburg, were married on Sunday but killed a few hours later when their car collided with another close to Margate early on Monday.
Fifteen-year-old Ernest van Rensburg of Joburg also died in the crash.
Before the funeral both coffins, as per Hindu custom, were taken to Ashlee’s family home in Chatsworth where his friends wore Manchester United T-shirts, a team he loved. Afterwards they were taken to Deepika’s home in Phoenix before the convoy went to the Clare Estate Umgeni Hindu Crematorium.
Family spokesman Dhenesh Singh told The Mercury the family was in shock and grieving.
“We are a close family and now we have to deal with this,” he said.
Singh, Ashlee’s brother-in-law, said both sets of parents were having the most difficult time.
“They had so many plans for this holiday, we never imagined we would be planning a funeral instead,” he said.
A family member, who asked not to be named, said the family were grateful for the support they had received.
“I don’t know what we would have done had people not helped us. Even the doctor at the mortuary worked on a holiday just so we could have the funeral today,” he said.
Mourners stood outside the homes for hours to show support. Some relatives and friends took to Facebook creating a page to remember the couple.
Police spokesman Jay Naicker said the circumstances of the accident were being investigated.
On Tuesday night, Ernest’s father, Ernest van Rensburg sr, said his son’s body was being taken to Joburg on Wednesday and the funeral would be held on Monday.
The Mercury