Grandmother buried by bricks in van accident

A MOVE to a new home ended tragically for a Chatsworth grandmother who was crushed to death after a brick arch, allegedly bumped by an overloaded moving van, collapsed on her on Friday evening.

Sharon Pillay, 50, pictured, a supervisor at a clothing factory, was moving out of the Moorton property when tragedy struck.

Her brother-in-law, Daniel Moodley, said Pillay had been moving to her mother’s Croftdene home.

“While the mover was going up her driveway, Sharon noticed that the van was overloaded and her headboard was touching the arch. She ran behind the vehicle trying to stop the driver from crashing into the arch but her efforts went unnoticed.”

Moodley said the driver crashed into the arch causing it to collapse on Pillay.

“She died instantly. Relatives at the scene thought a brick had fallen on her leg and were shocked to find her buried under a ton of bricks. Every bone in her body was broken. Family tried desperately to remove her from the rubble but it was too late,” he said.

“This was a freak accident. We are devastated by this loss. The driver of the van is also very traumatised and we are all trying to rally together in prayer.”

Moodley described Pillay as loving and humble. “She was a hard worker who always put the needs of her family before her own. She was a single parent and raised two boys, Christopher and Mark.”

Moodley said Pillay had been looking forward to moving in with her mother.

SAP spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said police had opened an inquest docket.