Remembering Hawks officer Le Grange a year after his death
MBOMBELA - It has been a year since the tragic and sudden death of beloved Mpumalanga Hawks officer Gerrie le Grange. Family, friends and former colleagues gathered to pay tribute to the late policeman on Saturday.
Le Grange had been rushing along the N4 near Man Truck and Bus Nelspruit to a crime scene near the KMI Airport at 17:00 on September 23, 2021, when his
Golf GTI was involved in a collision with a Ford Ranger. He was rushed to Mediclinic Nelspruit, where doctors immediately started working to save his life. However, at 05:30 on September 24, just over 12 hours after the accident, he was pronounced dead due to complications following the crash.
Le Grange died just two weeks before his 48th birthday.
On Saturday September 24 this year, members of Le Grange’s family, his friends and a few of his Hawks colleagues, came together at Man Truck and Bus, where the company had given Le Grange’s loved ones permission to erect a cross in his memory.
His mother, Martie van Reyneveld, sister, Ria Greyvenstein, wife, Jackie le Grange, brother-in-law, Michael Horn, mother-inlaw, Drienie Horn, and several colleagues and friends were all present to remember the always-smiling gentle giant.
The cross was erected just inside Man Truck and Bus, facing the road where the fatal accident occurred. Cement was poured in at the base of the cross to ensure it will stand for years to come.
One by one, Le Grange’s loved ones walked up to it, many of them crying as they approached the standing tribute. Jackie laid flowers down at the cross and walked to the accident site with her brother Michael, where they released balloons into the sky with special heartfelt messages for Gerrie.
“Thank you to all of our family members, friends and colleagues, from the bottom of my heart, for attending,” said Jackie.
“I also want to say a special thank you to Wesley Maartens for making the cross in memory of Gerrie. I know what Gerrie’s friendship meant to him. I also want to thank Nel Trophies for inscribing Gerrie’s name on the cross.
“Gerrie, my husband, you will always be remembered. I love you forever plus two days and I still miss you terribly each and every single day,” she said.