Durban - Stacy Raman wanted to cook her favourite meal, spaghetti and braised mince, for herself and her mother on Friday.
She tucked her seven-item grocery list into her jeans pocket and walked from their flat in Citrus Drive in Orient Hills, Isipingo, to board a taxi.
But while crossing Phila Ndwandwe Road to get a taxi to Shoprite in Isipingo, Raman, 26, was knocked down and killed.
“Stacy was supposed to attend a church function but she couldn’t make it,” said her sister, Stephanie Muthan.
“She decided to instead cook her favourite meal for her and our mother. But they didn’t have the ingredients. During the day, she visited my home and told my husband Lester and I she wanted to go to the supermarket. My husband scolded her. He told her it was Black Friday and the store would be busy.”
She said Raman was adamant.
Muthan said later that day, youths in the area told her about the accident. When she and Lester arrived at the scene, he pushed her away.
“We thought Stacy was hurt, but she had died. He didn’t want me to see her condition.”
Muthan said her husband saw the grocery list sticking out from her sister’s jeans pocket. The list comprised mince, spaghetti, butter, matches, cheese Russians, a chicken pack and a litre of milk.
Muthan said her sibling had tried her best over the years to find a job.
“But she never allowed this to dampen her spirits. She was kind-hearted and ensured the neighbour’s children were safe when they arrived home from school, and took the washing off the line for other women in the flat and folded it neatly.”
Her mother, Vinodha, 55, said her daughter loved life and her death was unfair. She said Raman cleaned the house every morning and ensured she ate and took her medication.
“She never allowed me to do anything. Last week, she started cleaning the house for Christmas. Now she’s not here for it.”
Dhevan Govindasamy, the tactical response manager at PT Alarms, said Raman sustained head injuries.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, said a case of culpable homicide was opened. No arrests were made.