‘We bring you the latest Plettenberg Bay | Garden Route news’
-Knysna Plett Herald News
“One should grasp every moment in life…now…as your life can change forever within a blink of an eye.”
This, according to Bitou crime fighter Otto Olivier, is what he realised after surviving a horrific head-on collision on Odlands Drive just after midnight on Friday 1 October.
Olivier, together with a Plett Security supervisor and K9 Blackie, was out helping community members when the accident happened.
According to dashcam footage, Olivier, who was driving a Toyota Fortuner, was driving up Odlands Drive towards the town centre in the left-hand lane when another vehicle came around a corner in Olivier’s lane. There was no time to respond and the two vehicles collided.
While Olivier sustained severe injuries to his eye, surgery was successful. “My chest injuries unfortunately will take some time to heal properly, whereafter follow-up surgery will be done on my eye. I am confident all the injuries will heal with time. My back, knees and hips are still problematic,” Olivier said.
His passenger suffered severe damage to one arm and broke both his feet. Surgery to repair the damage has been done and has also been successful.
“K9 Blackie showed signs of muscle stiffness after the accident. He is currently receiving laser therapy, fortunately no major injuries. Blackie is resting and is better already.”
Olivier said the driver of the other vehicle had also been admitted to hospital and had been on life support after open heart surgery. “Follow-up surgery has been done. He also has a long road to recovery ahead and our family wish him well and a speedy recovery.”
“Many people’s first reaction always is thankfulness when they survive or know a person they care about survive an accident, then anger steps in, then the worry until there is sufficient recovery. Big emotions flow from anxious to sad to relief and then again just thankfulness for being alive – and that is exactly what I felt.”
While reflecting on the incident over the past few days, he dealt with all the “could haves”. “What would have happened if we were there a few minutes later or perhaps a bit earlier? Just maybe this accident prevented something far worse from happening.”
He said a few things stood out for him. “One should grasp every moment in life…now…as your life can change forever within a blink of an eye. Never ever lose your humanity or moral ethics when dealing with any situation, no matter how bad it is or gets. With the good grace of God three people survived this horrible accident. I am forever thankful that our Lord kept his protective hand over us. When I am back on my feet, we will be doing what we love doing.”
‘We bring you the latest Plettenberg Bay | Garden Route news’
-Knysna Plett Herald News