Lutzville boy run over by farmer has successful operation on broken legs
The emotional mother explains she and her son had walked past the accused's premises, a smallholding while making their way to buy food in the town.
Magdelene Jantjies, the mother of 6-year-old Khwezi Jantjies, explains how she and her son were knocked down by a farmer in Lutzville in the Western Cape. Picture: Lauren Isaacs/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - A six-year-old Lutzville boy who suffered fractures to both his legs after being run over by a 70-year-old man has undergone a successful operation.
Khwezi Jantjies and his mother, Magdalene, were walking along Station Road in the West Coast town at around noon on Friday when the driver of a vehicle, with a trailer attached, rammed into them and drove over the child.
The emotional mother explained that she and her son had walked past the accused's premises, a smallholding, while making their way to buy food in the town.
Magdalene said that Khwezi then stopped and picked up an orange that had fallen to the ground before attempting to reach through a fence to grab a second orange on the ground.
Shortly after taking a corner, she heard the farmer scream, accusing the boy of stealing fruit.
"He sped towards us and when he rammed into us, we were pinned up against the fence and I banged on the car and his wheels were spinning...and I said 'Oh, help me, Jesus, help me!'"
The distraught woman said the farmer eventually backed away and that she and her son were helped by a passer-by before police arrived.
The elderly man is expected to return to the dock at the Vredendal Magistrates Court on Monday, for a bail application.