A devastated Austin Niewenhuisen is struggling to sleep and eat after his mother and fiancée were killed in front of him when they were hit by a taxi in Barkly Road.
A DEVASTATED Austin Niewenhuisen is struggling to sleep and eat after his mother and fiancée were killed in front of him when they were hit by a taxi in Barkly Road.
His mother, Beverly-Anne Niewenhuisen, 47, and his fiancée, Monique Meintjies, 29, were declared dead on scene after the driver and another person fled.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Dikeledi Gopane said the Kimberley police are investigating a culpable homicide case following the accident that happened on Saturday, September 3.
Niewenhuisen constantly visits the place where his “two favourite people” died. He also placed an RIP board and candles at the scene.
Speaking to the DFA at the scene this week, he scratched into some blackish soil, and said that it is blood belonging to his fiancée.
He pointed to some neatly packed broken bricks and said he used them to cover pieces of her hair that he found on the scene.
There were also dark traces on a part of the wall that did not collapse, which he said was her blood.
He expressed how everything continues to replay in his mind, and how he wished it was just a bad dream.
On the day of the incident, the couple, both their mothers and some friends left to attend a launch at a nearby tavern, but found the venue still empty and decided to go somewhere else first.
The couple was supposed to get married in October and also celebrate Meintjies’ 30th birthday.
He said he decided to watch a soccer match while they were busy getting ready for the evening on the fateful day.
“They looked very beautiful. She was putting on make-up while my mom was putting on a weave. We had decided to go somewhere else after finding that the tavern was still empty. I wanted to watch the rest of the soccer match.
“We walked in a row towards Barkly Road and I used my phone torch to light the way. I paused for a moment to fix my shoe.”
He added that he is struggling to understand the exact cause of the accident because the road was wide and quiet enough for the driver to control the vehicle.
He said the taxi hit the two victims and drove through the wall, it then reversed over them. The taxi came from the direction of town.
“It drove over the other lane, evaded a Polo car, and headed straight for us,” he said.
One of their friends tried to warn them but it was too late. “My mom tried to run to the fence while I tried to grab my fiancée’s arm.“
After hitting the two women, the taxi reversed over them, but was stopped by a manhole next to the pavement. Two men then got out and fled the scene.
“I feel the ambulance took too long, but when paramedics arrived they declared my mom dead and asked my sister to close her eyes. Meintjies was still alive but got weaker and weaker until she could not fight anymore.
“We planned to get married in October but had made a decision to go on our honeymoon when the schools close in September. We have been together for eight years.
“The reason for the early honeymoon was because we knew that we would not be able to go on a honeymoon as soon as we get married due to her work schedule at school.
“Now I am only left with the two rings we bought together.”
