Comrades volunteer, Johan Doubell (51) from Cleland, Pietermaritzburg, has been hospitalised and remains in critical condition after a tragic hit-and-run accident in Ashburton on the 10th June.
At around 4am, as Doubell and his fiancée Erika Kapp were setting up their water stand at the bottom of Polly Shortts at Ashburton, when a reckless driver, drove into the stand injuring Johan and 3 other individuals.
“A light blue bakkie came speeding up and hit two women before it swerved into him. It ran over him, reversed and then sped off.” – said Erika
The driver, still not publicly disclosed by the police has since voluntarily handed himself over to the Pietermaritzburg SAPS Accident Unit.
“The man faces several (possible) charges including hit-and-run, failure to stop after an accident, negligent driving and failure to ascertain injuries after an accident.” Says Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane
Sharlene Zulch and Merrywynn Pieterse, who were also run over by the bakkie on Sunday morning, are in pain but suffering lesser injuries. Johan however is currently in the intensive care unit at St Anne’s Hospital with multiple injuries.
“It’s heartbreaking to think that we were just at the doctors last week for a check up after Johan’s knee replacement a year ago, now the same knee that was almost fully healed has been broken in 5 places. My fiancée also has broken ribs, a cracked skull, his cheek is broken and his lung collapsed,” – says Erika
On the 12th of June, Johan was taken into theater where he was fitted with a metal plate in his right leg and splint in the other.
“I saw Johan last night at around 6pm. He looked relaxed but could not talk much, he was still very drowsy from the painkillers. His body has been through a lot the last few days and it’s really difficult to see him in so much pain” – says Erika
This morning Johan will undergo surgery at St. Annes to rectify his now fractured right optical bone. Erika says, Johan is seeing double, due to the displacement of his eye socket.
“Due to Johan’s difficulty breathing he would have been unable to have undergone two major operations on one day. It would have been too risky to for him to be under anesthetic for so long. We are hoping for the best today and praying doctors will be able to save his right eye” – says Erika
To raise funds for Johan’s medical costs as well as his recovery, community organization, Porky’s People have created a campaign to raise R100 000 on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy.
“We heard about the horrific incident that happened with Johan and wanted to do our best to ensure his speedy recovery. We hope the public will continue their support for a respected member of our community and contribute to his fund on BackaBuddy.” – says Theresa Pienaar, Founder of Porky’s People.
The campaign went live on 12th of June 2018 has thus far raised R10 655.45 with contributions from 20 donors.
Support Johan by donating to his Porky’s People campaign on BackaBuddy here:
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