A Cape Town woman is mourning the deaths of her husband and 2-year-old toddler, who died hours apart after they were involved in a collision with a truck on the M3 on Friday.
Little Felix Olivier, died at Red Cross Children’s Hospital at around 8pm, hours after the crash claimed her father Jaendre’s life. Two other people were injured after a truck carrying bricks near Firgrove Bridge on the M3 in Cape Town collided with three motor vehicles.
The family issued a moving statement on Saturday confirming the duo’s passing. According to the statement the pair were returning from visiting Jaendre’s parents when the accident occurred. Jaendre, 39, died at the scene and Felix was taken off of life support hours later.
Her mother, Dominique, told Weekend Argus that a good Samaritan found Felix, whom they called Fiela, still strapped in her car seat, on the side of the road and rushed her to the hospital.
“That person put her in his car and rushed her to the hospital ... if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye,” said a weeping Dominique.
“In my last words to her, I just said ‘go to papa’,” she said, adding that she’s thankful to the Samaritan.
Dominique said her “devoted and beloved” husband’s goal in life was to see his two children grow up.
“He was devoted to his daughters ... just six weeks ago he resigned from his job at Mediclinic to be a full-time father,” she said.
Jaendre, who studied sound engineering, was an administrative clerk at Mediclinic Louis Leipoldt in Bellville and he stepped down after the birth of his second child.
“He was very warm and always made time for people, a real fun person and always protected his daughters,” she said.
No funeral arrangements have been made yet.
“The funeral will only be for close friends and family,” she added.
Weekend Argus.