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Partners
The mom who had a car accident on her way to Hoërskool Driehoek after the tragedy hasn’t stopped smiling since her fiancé told her their good news.
Debbie Coetzee (46), who’d sustained head injuries in a car accident on the same day as a walkway collapsed at the school in Vanderbiljpark, Gauteng, is finally set to marry her fiancé of three years.
Kruger Crause (46) says their plan to get hitched at the end of February was sidelined by the accident on 1 February. But now they’ll be fulfilling their dream at the end of March – thanks to Good Samaritans who’ve offered to organise everything.
“Can you believe it? It’s so awesome! I’m over the moon,” Kruger says. “Debbie is so very, very happy. She can’t stop smiling.”
Kruger and Debbie had been planning on an intimate wedding ceremony on their employer’s farm – both work for Herza Auctioneers. But the accident put a spanner in the works.
On the morning of 1 February, Debbie had rushed to fetch her daughter Rizaan (14) and Kruger’s son Johan (15), both in Grade 8 at Hoërskool Driehoek, when the accident happened at the crossing at Vaal Mall.
Another car had allegedly turned unexpectedly, cutting her off and causing the collision. Debbie was flung out of the car and landed 30m from the vehicle. She sustained serious head injuries and was hospitalised for 18 days.
Lindie van Niekerk and her daughter Jeanne Jacobs run the restaurant Mimi se Plaaskombuis near Vanderbiljpark. Lindie was deeply touched by Debbie’s story when she read about it in YOU’s sister magazine Huisgenoot (7 March).
“I immediately felt I wanted to help them. When I read they’d postponed their wedding due to ‘circumstances’, I knew money was also a factor,” Lindie says.
“I called Kruger – he was emotional when I told him of my plan. He told Debbie and apparently she can’t stop smiling,” she adds.
“I feel if you’re able to do something kind for someone, why not?”
Kruger says they’d been planning an intimate wedding, and Lindie says her restaurant has space for 35 guests – exactly what the couple had in mind.
Lindie and Jeanne have since successfully reached out to potential sponsors. “We now have a photographer, flowers, décor and a wedding dress. We even found a place where they can spend their wedding night.”
Kruger says Debbie is recovering well and she’ll be returning to work tomorrow.
“Debbie’s doing well. She saw the doctor on Tuesday and she wants to wean herself off the medication and go back to work. He’s really surprised by her speedy recovery,” Kruger says.
“He told us it usually takes about four months for a patient with her injuries to recover to the point where she’s at. But Debbie is positive – she wants to be okay.”
