From today's Hermanus Times (www.hermanustimes.co.za): ?Worst of all was the inhumanity and recklessness of oncoming traffic just after the accident,? Billy Steyn (45) said on Tuesday after he and co-cyclist Thomas Dreyer (29) were knocked off their bicycles by a vehicle, two days before the Cape Argus Cycle Race on Friday. The accident occurred just after 05:30 on the R43 at Lynx Avenue in Vermont. The 34-year old driver of the bakkie, Jacobus Horn, was arrested at the scene and appeared in the Hermanus Magistrate Court on Monday on charges of reckless and negligent driving as well as driving while under the influence of alcohol. Horn has indicated that he wants to apply for legal aid and was given bail of R5 000 on conditions that include a prohibition on the use of alcohol. The case was postponed to 12 May. Dreyer was transferred from Hermanus Medi-Clinic to Vergelegen Medi-Clinic in Somerset West on Friday, where he remains in an induced coma. His injuries are serious. His neck is broken and he has sustained serious head injuries. One of his lungs was also injured. Possible further injuries have not not been excluded. He is currently under sedation, which makes it difficult to determine the exact extent of his injuries. He has two children, a daughter who will be three years old on 10 April and a son of six months. His wife, Marika, and father-in-law, Willem Steyn, flew down from Johannesburg on Friday morning to be with him. The accident has left the family in shock. Marika's mother, Esthie Steyn, who looked after the children, flew to Cape Town with the children on Wednesday. Dreyer and Steyn are from Johannesburg and travelled to Hermanus a week earlier to prepare for the cycle tour. Just after the accident, Steyn realised that his friend was in a serious condition and tried to flag down motorists rushing past, but to no avail. ?I took my cell phone, which was damaged from the accident and tried to signal them with the light. But they just sped past, not even slowing down to find out if they could help us. I had to jump out of the road twice and I feared for Dreyer's life and my own.? Steyn managed to phone a friend in Johannesburg in order to contact someone in Hermanus and alert them of the accident. Steyn was released from hospital later the same day with cuts and wounds to his leg and arm. Dreyer's wife, Marika said her husband will be in hospital for at least two months. ?We don't know what to expect but believe that God will protect him. The doctors operated on his neck on Friday evening and he is still in the intensive care unit.? Bernard de Necker, Dreyer's brother-in-law, said they are planning to come and support the family as soon as possible. He said the family is still in shock and praying for a full recovery for Dreyer. Both cyclists work full time, yet managed to cycle some 7 000 km in preparation for the race. Their hard work and efforts could not be rewarded, this time.
