Last ride for biker brother
MBOMBELA - In what could only be described as a freak accident, a motorist who had a heart attack, collided with a motorcycle at the Sonpark intersection on Madiba Drive on Friday afternoon. The motorist died soon after.
It was a traumatic experience for other motorists and bystanders who witnessed a local doctor trying her best to resuscitate the man, but to no avail.
It happened during lunch hour, with high traffic volumes on the R40/Madiba Drive.
The victim was later identified as well-known motorcyclist and Wrangler MC Lowveld member, Gerald Azevedo.
He was travelling in his SUV in the direction of Barberton when he presumably had a heart attack before colliding with the stationary motorcycle, pushing it into a car in front which was also stationary at the traffic light.
According to eyewitness and well-known Mbombela resident Marita Kroon, the rider manager to jump off his motorcycle to avoid being caught between the two cars.
She was in full view of the accident, much to the horror of her children who were accompanying her in her car. She reported the incident to Sonpark management and a doctor of Urgent Care responded to the scene seconds thereafter. The doctor attempted to resuscitate Azevedo, taking over from a member of the public who was initially doing so. According to Kroon, she was notified by Sonpark management that the doctor felt a pulse before Azevedo was transported to Mediclinic Nelspruit by ambulance.
Spokesperson for Mediclinc Nelspruit, Robyn Baard, however, confirmed that he was already dead upon arrival at the hospital.
The rider of the motorcycle does deliveries for Mopani Pharmacy. Eben Stone, retail operations executive of
Mopani, confirmed that he is in good health after escaping unscathed.
Callum mac Pherson, regional operational manager of Hi-Tech Security, responded to the scene only to discover that the deceased was one of his best friends, who he referred to as his brother.
“From what can be gathered from the scene, it seems like Gerald had the heart attack prior to the collision. His car was in fourth gear, which could be indicative of that,” he said.
Mac Pherson is the vice-president of Wranglers MC Lowveld Chapter, to which Azevedo belonged.
A last ride will be held on Friday. Fellow motorcyclists will leave Westend Spur at around 11:15 and travel to Rhenosterkop for the memorial service. Azevedo was cremated on Wednesday.
“Gerald was our brother for many years. He joined Wranglers MC Lowveld Chapter in 2015 and became a full patch member early in 2017.
“He later took on the role of our club secretary. He was an amazing man with lots of love to give and always made time for his family. He loved nothing more than riding his bike with his wife, Lorna, and us, his brothers. As master of ceremonies at my wedding I will never forget him telling me 'Dodge, I love you stukkend' - a phrase he said to you at every chance he got. We will miss him,” said mac Pherson, who within the Wranglers is known as Dodge.
Wolf Nel, president of the club, said he was like a father to them all and they grieve his loss.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family that by extension form part of our family and our condolences to every person’s life that he touched. There are no words to describe the sadness we all share and I will miss having my brother keeping tabs on everything that needs to be done. The Lowveld is worse off for losing such an amazing man,” Nel concluded.