Once Accident Is One Too Many

The death of well-known South African champion mountain biker Burry Stander was a wake-up call for cyclist and motorists.

- Vanessa Papas

DALENE BOONZAAIER was an avid cyclist who loved nothing more than riding the open road. Earlier this year, the 37-year-old lecturer was killed after being knocked off her bicycle by a passing vehicle during an early morning training session. Just days later Gregory Basson of Somerset West lost his life when he was struck by a motorist who fled the scene. Dalene and Greg’s death follow on a string of others who have lost their lives while riding. Last year a Kings Park Cycling Club chairperson, Richard da Silva, and another cyclist, Jared Dwyer, were hit by a car while riding at the back of a group on the M4 Ruth First Freeway in Durban. Both died on the scene. The year before, Capetonian Adré Erasmus, 37 – a husband and father of six-year-old twins – also lost his life. Famous cyclists have also died on our roads. South African track cycling champion Jeanne Nell lost his life after a ‘freak accident’ where he was caught between two fellow cyclists on a sharp bend at a Keirin cycling event at the Bellville Velodrome in 2014, while Burry Stander