Samson Shozi cheated death when he survived a crash that claimed 14 others, and his wife is praying he will pull through.
|||SIHLE MLAMBO, SIYABULELA DZANIBE and TANKISO MAKHETHA
Durban - Samson Shozi cheated death when the taxi he was travelling in crashed on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, and his distraught wife is praying he will pull through.
Shozi, 49, is on life support at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital after he was airlifted after a minibus taxi crashed on Friday, killing 14 people.
Sylvia Shozi, who has been at her husband’s hospital bedside since the crash, said her husband had suffered broken ribs, severe head injuries and had bled profusely from the nose.
“There is no difference in his situation, he is still on life support,” she said on Monday. “It really frightens me and saddens me to see him in this state.”
Sylvia, from Roseneath on the South Coast, said her husband had been to eMagabeni to deliver medication to his ill mother.
“He has not woken up since Friday, his eyes are still shut, but with the might of the Lord, he will survive,” she said.
The couple have four children aged 12 to 21 and a 3-year-old grandson, and Samson was the family’s breadwinner, said Sylvia, who was at the hospital again late on Monday with one of their daughters.
Philani Bazini, whose sister Bazini, 39, died in the crash, said he was shocked to learn that she had been in the taxi because she would normally leave from Isipingo, south of Durban.
“I still can’t believe she’s gone. She was never supposed to be in that taxi,” he said. “A neighbour identified her because we never thought she could be there.”
Philani said he was worried about his sister’s children, who depended on her.
“But we have to make a plan.”
The brother of a 42-year-old woman who also died - her name is being withheld because the victim’s son has not been notified yet - said his nephew would only be told when he returns home from his university residence later this week.
“We are expecting him home on Thursday as he will be done with exams by then; we don’t want to affect his studies because he will be devastated when he finds out,” he said.
“His mother was very close to him.”
Malindi Mzelemu, who lost her brother, Busele, in the accident, said he was the sole breadwinner in the family. He is survived by his 7-year-old son and fiancée.
“He had gone to buy building material for his new house. This (accident) happens while he was busy with preparations for his wedding that was set for next year. But he wanted to build a house for his family first,” said Malindi.
Nelisiwe Ngcondo lost her 24-year-old niece, Nombuso, in the horrific accident. “Nombuso was on her way back from work at Rose Knitting factory when this happened,” Ngcondo said.
“She was the breadwinner and had just started on this job. We are saddened to have lost a young, obedient, and respectful child.”
Daily News