Knysna Rogue Rally accident update
“I am not sorry that this happened,” said Rodney Lakay who lost both his legs when a Lamborghini lost control during the Knysna leg of the Rogue Rally on September 25.
Rodney and his wife Maria lost their lower legs simultaneously when Louis Oelofse lost control of his Lamborghini during a time trial on Cape Road in Knysna and slammed into stationary Toyota Prado with such force that in the Prado was flung into the Lakays’ Mercedes Vito. The couple were sitting on the floor of the Vito with their legs dangling out of the vehicle, watching the supercars race up the hill when the impact of the collision severed both their legs. The Vito was forced over a steep embankment before coming to rest on its roof.
The Lakays were rushed to the Life Knysna Private Hospital where medical staff treated their horrific injuries. Rodney’s injuries were so severe that the medical team was uncertain whether he would survive the ordeal.
“I woke up in ICU six or seven days later not knowing that the doctors had been fighting to pull me through for so long,” said Rodney. “My first thought was, ‘Why are the nurses washing me without taking off my sandals?’ My sandals felt so tight – I just couldn’t understand why they weren’t taking them off first,” said Rodney with a glint in his eye and a smile on his face.
His wife, Maria, fought her own demons, “I felt myself dying. I really felt myself leaving my body. It was then that I said, ‘Lord, I choose life. I choose life because I have two beautiful children. Lord, I choose life because I have a lovely husband. Lord, I choose life’.”
She added that both she and Rodney had started laughing when they simultaneously noticed the word ‘Life’ written on the hospital blanket at the same time. “You know we are in the Life Hospital – my choice was even written on the blanket,” she giggled.
Maria added earnestly, “If I could speak to the driver, I would tell him that God loves him so much that he put us in his path so that he could live for his family.”
Although Rodney was surprised at the loss of both his lower limbs, he is adamant that he is not angry about the loss. “I believe that there is something greater out there. After all, our bodies are just a vessel and I believe that God is using this accident to bring a message to our leaders.”
He related how his God had visited him and through various signs had led him to believe that it was his destiny to tell leaders to return to salvation. “We need to get back to where it all started. So many people out there are on drugs … and hurt and destroy one another.”
Rodney said that he believed that society’s problems today start at home. “There are so many absent fathers, so the children don’t get taught the true value of life. I am very strict with my boys [23 and 20 years of age] and insist that they treat their girlfriends as I treat their mother, with the utmost respect. If we can get that message across to the community, so many things will improve.”
Since Rodney has to visit the Eastern Cape on business once a month, he had decided to take Maria along on a dream holiday. “She retired at the end of July and I thought it would be a great idea to take a slow trip up the coast and to get to know the towns I usually just drive through. But God had bigger plans for us,” said Rodney.
In closing, Maria smiled when she explained how the couple did everything together. “Rodney doesn’t even want to put petrol in his car if I don’t go with him. God knew that we were so close that he even took all four our legs at the same time.”
The couple were due to leave Knysna to continue their rehabilitation at the Vincent Palotti Hospital in Cape Town.
“Our friends and family have been so supportive while we have been in Knysna. It will be wonderful to be back in Cape Town,” concluded Rodney.
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ARTICLE: FRAN KIRSTEN
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Source: Knysna-Plett Herald