Locals and visitors are being encouraged to sign an online petition https://chng.it/WxnhhHrbcD aimed at persuading SANRAL to make the N2 and intersecting roads in and around Sedgefield. This after the horrific accident which took place on the N2 just outside Sedgefield on Monday, 26 May, leaving 11-year-old local Emma-Grace Snyman in a critical condition, with a long journey ahead for her recovery.
The accident happened on the western side of town, just past the Engen Garage at the turn-off towards ‘Montmere’ (the road that leads to Outward Bound at the back end of Cloud 9). Emma and two school friends were passengers in a Daihatsu Sirion on their way to horse-riding. They were waiting to turn right off the highway onto the rural road.
Visibility was low due to the wet weather, and a bakkie overtaking a large truck (which was driving in the yellow lane) ploughed into the back of the Daihatsu, pushing them into a stream of oncoming traffic. Several vehicles were involved in the dreadful carnage that resulted within split seconds, but it seems only Emma sustained serious injuries after being flung from the car.
Emergency services were deployed to the scene, and Emma was initially taken to a hospital in George before being flown to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town.
She remains there over a week later, with her shell-shocked mother, Vanessa, staying as close as she can to her hospital bedside. The medical team is attending to her around the clock, meeting regularly to ascertain the best proactive and reactive treatment necessary and plan the way forward for the young girl. Yesterday (Tuesday, 3 June), Emma’s father, Johnny, reported that whilst Emma had woken up and no longer needed a ventilator to breathe, she had not been responsive to the doctors.
“She is in a neck brace as her second vertebrae is displaced, and she will need plastic surgery as well as work on her broken jaw,” the distraught man told us, “Her medical report mentioned ‘A prolonged stay,’ so we know this is going to be a long and life-changing haul for all of us.”
Back in Sedgefield, with so many family members and friends desperate to do what they could to help, it was no surprise that two fundraising platforms were started simultaneously. The support has been phenomenal, with close to R400 000 raised to support Emma and her family in the days ahead.
“We are so grateful for all the support,” says Johnny, “Whilst we remain fully focussed on Emma’s short-term recovery at the moment, we also have to think of the long-term.”
He explained that whilst the Red Cross Hospital treatment is not charged for, all funds raised will be channelled towards long-term care and therapy, which Emma will no doubt need on the road to recovery.
As a result of this terrible accident, a number of residents have come together to create a petition with the aim of making this intersection safer.
The petition will inform the road authority of things that urgently need attention/correction:-
• There is currently no dedicated lane for the Montmere turn-off.
• Leading up to the turn-off, the N2 centre line is dotted, which means it is deemed ‘safe to overtake’, which it clearly isn’t.
• The speed limit is not evident along that stretch, causing drivers to feel they may speed up as they ‘leave town’.
• The road signs for the turn-off disappeared some years ago when the road was being repaired. They have not been replaced.
• Signage pointing out that overtaking is prohibited and that a double lane section (for overtaking) is up ahead (up the hill towards the Pine Lake turn-off).
Johnny Snyman has asked that as many people as possible join the efforts to make this intersection safer. This, he hopes, might just prevent another family from suffering the same trauma.
