I spoke to my boet Sparro this morning, he witnessed what I think is probably this accident. He was right behind the guy when it happened, he might check in later to give his account of it...
Ja well, I was riding 2 bikes behind this guy. We were doing about 80-90 kmh in the emergency lane next to fast lane. The lady driver swerved right and knocked the bike's tail, effectively ramming him against the concrete barrier. He then bounced off the barried and hit another car and then slumped onto the tarmac. With the impact his Shark helmet came off and his head got whacked pretty hard against the car and the tar a few times.
A CMA rider and I pulled up and he blocked the traffic with his bike. He's a marshall at cycling events, so had a 1st aid kit with him. We pulled a few cars broadside to stop traffic over 3 lanes as the debris and shit was all over the place, We started CPR and traded places with a helpfull motorist when out of breath. About 10 min later there was no sign of life and it was clear he was gone.
I just sat on the concrete barrier, took my gear off and watched as the paramedics eventually arrived. Gave the CMA guy the cellphone and wallet that I picked up and the paramedics called his mom. They do this everyday, so they just told her that her son was in a prang on the highway, he didn't survive the crash and she needs to get to Randburg police station to ID the body. My mother would sure as hell have a heart attack. The woman who actually knocked the guy was in a pretty bad state. Asking all the time whether it was her fault and crying because she actually killed someone's son. I was very angry because i've seen this so many times before, but this time I saw her hitting the guy barely 20m ahead of me.
Its a pretty bad feeling seeing a person trying to hold onto life and despite our best efforts, slipped away forever. So eventually just got back onto the bike and rode on to work in a haze of anger and and deep sorrow. You know, we see and greet each other almost everyday without really knowing the other guy and I guess there's an invisible bond between bikers. So many other bikers stopped and offered assistance, some guys just standing there with bowed heads and tears because this is just so unnecessary. One thing is for sure, I ride with a Shoei and Arai, both with double D-ring system. This Shark had a clip-in mechanism and it came undone. I'll rather ride with a helmet that costs more than the bike and I'm certainly buying a neck-brace too.
I don't know how I'm going to ride past the same spot tomorrow, maybe I'll just use Witkoppen for a while until this has faded a bit.
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So thats my Monday. RIP friend.