Wife dies after bike horror on Bay road
AN early morning cycle ended tragically for a Port Elizabeth couple yesterday when they were rammed by a truck on the Rocklands Road.
Sonnica Kensley, 31, was killed and her husband, Clayton, 29, injured in the horror crash near the Witteklip railway crossing just before 10am.
The truck driver, who allegedly sped off after the accident and was chased by a passing motorist, was arrested and is facing charges of driving under the influence and culpable homicide.
Witnesses said the truck, which was carrying wooden pallets, smashed into the Greenshields Park couple and carried on driving for about 5km,
A motorist who had witnessed the accident forced him to a stop.
Sonnica was airlifted to the Livingstone Hospital where she died shortly afterwards.
Shocked relatives and friends, who had gathered at the hospital yesterday, described the couple as avid mountain bikers who frequently cycled in areas outside the Bay.
Nelson Mandela Bay EMS head Ashwell Botha said Sonnica, who sustained serious head injuries, went into cardiac arrest on arrival at hospital.
Clayton, who was not seriously injured, was treated and discharged.
Sonnica’s brother-in-law, Grant Beets, said: “Clayton has a really tough road ahead of him [dealing with his wife’s death].”
The couple had been married for almost 3½ years.
Beets said the family did not want to comment further at this stage.
Police spokesman Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said the truck driver, who said he was self-employed, had been taken for blood tests after his arrest.
He said alternative charges of hit-and-run and reckless or negligent driving could be added later.
“For now, he has been arrested for drunken driving as well as culpable homicide.
“It appears that the truck hit both the cyclists and [the driver] allegedly tried to speed away.
“He was caught down the road by a motorist who chased after the truck.”
In another incident at about 2pm, a critically injured motorist was airlifted to the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital after his car rolled on the R75 between Uitenhage and Kirkwood.
Botha said the man was found lying outside the vehicle.