He only had a precious few minutes to act in, but in that short time a farm worker managed to save somebody from burning to death.
Michael Madende, who lives close to the Reach for the Sky farmstall, was busy cooking his dinner on Saturday evening when he heard a loud crash on the N1-south close by. What he heard was the accident that had claimed the lives of a little girl and a young woman.
When Michael rushed outside, he saw one of the vehicles engulfed in flames. He could do nothing to save the people – who later turned out to be the deceased – he told the newspaper on Monday. "The vehicle was already squashed and there was a big fire," said Michael.
Struggling to signal passing motorists for help, Michael decided to risk his life and see if there was anybody who needed assistance in the second vehicle. This vehicle was not completely engulfed in flames yet, but a few flames could be seen here and there, spreading under the hood as a result of the crash.
When he realized that nobody was going to stop and assist, Michael rushed forward to help the people inside. "I did not want to take anything from the vehicle – I just wanted to see if there was somebody that I could perhaps help – I could not even see if there were more people besides the driver in the car," said Michael.
It was only when he strained to open the driver's door, which had been smashed shut, that other onlookers also rushed forward to help Michael. He could also see then that only the male driver was in the vehicle and that he was in severe pain. Blood was gushing out from a head wound, and his legs were pinned down under the twisted steering wheel of his vehicle. With the help of three other onlookers, the passenger door was forced opened.
Michael explained that the driver was still conscious and struggling to get free. By that time, the man had also sustained some serious burn wounds to his face and upper body.
The group finally managed to get the man free by pulling his seat back through the passenger door. The man was able to climb over to the back seats, where Michael and his other rescuers were able to pull him out to safety.
Seconds later, recalled Michael, that vehicle also exploded and burned to ashes in minutes. "I'm only sad that I could not help the people in the other car – but there was no way I could get to them…" said Michael humbly.
His only wish was to have a face-to-face meeting with the driver, so that he might wish him well on his road to recovery.
The newspaper was able to identify the driver as Mr Magwabeni Livhuwani (33). He was stabilised in the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital, from where he was transferred to the MediClinic. At this stage, it is still unclear whether it was the MediClinic in Polokwane or the one in Tzaneen.
The young woman was identified as the 25-year-old Precious Mpho Siago. At the time of our going to press the police had yet to identify the toddler.