A pair of sisters have been left devastated after losing their mum on the day of their prom.
Evané du Toit, 18, and her sister, Dorijke, were thrilled to have their beloved mum help them prepare for the special event.
Doré lived 10,000 miles away with her son, Rossouw, 13, and had not seen her daughters for five months.
She was forced to move away because of her work as an accountant at a tyre company.
She made the trip, not only for their prom but to celebrate Dorijjke’s birthday – the young woman had turned 21 just one month prior.
On the morning of 20 September, Doré picked up her two daughters in her black Toyota Urban Cruiser.
Spirits were high as she drove them to a beauty salon to get their hair done.
But later, as they left the salon, disaster struck.
The weather had taken a very bad turn with heavy rain and high winds.
Doré initially waited for the weather to improve, but there was no sign of it letting up, so she decided to head back into town with her daughters.
Moments later, the car was struck by a white pickup truck on the driver’s side.
Doré’s vehicle rolled several times before coming to a stop on its left side.
Both of the sisters recovered but their mum was pronounced dead at the scene.
“I get flashbacks that make me very emotional,” Dorijke, from Pretoria, told Need To Know.
“I see my sister lying unconscious.
“I feel my mother’s weight on me.
“Evané was just lying there lifeless. I thought she was dead.
“I immediately started screaming. ‘Help, Help. Someone help us.’ I was hysterical.
“They opened the boot and I heard Evané groan. I was so relieved she was alive.
“We hadn’t seen our mom physically for five months before that day because she lives and works in George.
“She couldn’t make it for my birthday in August, so we had plans to celebrate again with her when she was here for the matric ball [South African version of prom].”
Emergency services transported the sisters to Dihlabeng Hospital in Bethlehem.
When the truck hit their car, Dorijke was thrown against the passenger window. She suffered a cracked pelvic bone, and vertebra and is currently using crutches.
Evané, who sat on one of the backseats, was flung into the rear window and sustained a head injury, concussion and cut on her right foot.
Their father, Francois, arrived at the hospital and broke the terrible news to them.
Evané said: “My mother was an incredible person.
“She made selfless sacrifices time and again.
“She was a woman of God.
“She was our rock.
“And that is how we will remember her.”
The girls were discharged from the hospital after a few days and while their physical wounds will heal, they both struggle with emotional scars.
Their brother, Rossouw, is also battling to come to terms with his mother’s passing.
One month on since the terrible accident, Evané has gone back to school and is studying for her exams.
She plans on going to North-West University so that she can study to become a chartered accountant.
Dorijke, an aspiring actress, is studying drama, and has roles in the South African soap ‘Binnelanders’, and the TV show ‘Diepe Waters’.
When the time is right, the sisters and their family will scatter Doré’s ashes on the Gwaing River beach near George.
Evané added: “We want to do this for Mom.
“We’re more determined than ever.
“We specifically chose that beach because it was her favourite place.
“She always said it was so beautiful there it was like the Lord’s bedroom.”
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