City mom, baby killed in crash Bloody weekend on NC roads
BLOODY SUNDAY: This accident claimed the lives of a mother and her baby daughter.
Picture: Supplied A HORRIFIC accident on Easter Sunday claimed the lives of a Kimberley mother and her baby girl.
Naomi Barends, 36, and her oneyear-old daughter, Kiana Lessing, died on the scene of the accident that took place in Schmidtsdrift Road at around 2am on Sunday morning.
During the incident, a Red Polo Vivo, transporting three people and travelling west on Long Street, crashed head-on into the passenger side of the White Polo Classic that Barends, who had her baby on her lap, was travelling in, as the vehicle turned into the filling station.
The driver of the White Polo, Barends’ fiancé and Kiana’s father, Anthony Lessing, lost consciousness during the accident but did not sustain any serious injuries, while the male driver and the male and female passengers of the Red Polo sustained moderate to serious injuries and were transported to hospital by Emer-G-Med paramedics after being removed from the vehicle during a “difficult extraction where the Jaws of Life had to be used” and stabilised on the scene.
Barends and Kiana were flung from the vehicle during the accident and landed in the road and in a ditch. They were declared dead on the scene
A highly emotional Lessing yesterday broke down in tears as he recalled the “minute in which the lives of both his fiancée and child were taken away”.
Lessing said that he lost consciousness during the accident and only came to again while being treated in an ambulance.
He said that the force of the collision was directed at the passenger side of the vehicle, where Barends and their baby were sitting.
“I did not see what happened to Naomi or Kiana or how they died and I also did not see their bodies. That sight would have haunted me for the rest of my life,” Lessing said.
Lessing said that he and Barends were planning to get married later this year.
“Naomi was the most loving, positive, and selfless person I ever met. She was forever smiling and always put the needs of others, especially her family, before her own. She was a pillar of strength that held her family together and I don’t know what we will do without her.
“I am hurting tremendously and don’t know how I will carry on without my queen and princess. Life has lost purpose without them,” Lessing said.
Barends was a SANDF sergeant at Diskobolos, Kimberley. She leaves behind a 21-year-old daughter.
Police spokesperson, Captain Olebogeng Tawana, yesterday confirmed that a case of culpable homicide had been opened following the accident that claimed the lives of a mother and her baby.
Tawana said that at this stage, the investigation determining the exact cause of the accident was still ongoing.
“A 36-year-old mother and her one-year-old child, who were passengers of the White Polo were certified dead on the scene, while the driver was transported to hospital. The driver of the Red Polo and his two passengers were also transported to hospital,” Tawana said.