Mbali and Danie saved the day

Rustenburg – Mbali Mahlangu (17) and Anton’s Towing tow truck operator Danie Appelgryn has been recognised as true heroes by ER24 paramedics after they went out of their way to assist victims of a car accident on Saturday 2 April.

Mbali was just hanging out with friends in the complex where she stays when she heard a terrible crash. She was the first one on scene and found two vehicles which collided at the crossing of the R24 and Drakensberg Road. Two people were lying in the ground next to the one car, and without hesitation, she rushed to their aid.

“My daughter is not really someone that will do something like that, but God gave her the strength and courage to go and help,” Mahlangu’s mother Boitumelo Mahlangu said in an interview with Platinum Weekly.

Appelgryn arrived shortly after. “When I arrived on scene and saw the state of the vehicle, I knew the people needed help urgently, so I also called ambulance services. Mbali was sitting with the one of the injured, and I was sitting with the other, encouraging them to stay calm and conscious,” Appelgryn said.

Once the ambulances arrived, the injured were loaded in and transported to nearby hospitals.
“These two deserve recondition for what they did. They not only helped; they saved lives. If it wasn’t for these two who reacted so quickly, the victims wouldn’t have survived,” ER24 general manager Marchant Jacobs said.

Platinum Weekly reached out to the older brother of one of the injured who confirmed that he is out of the ICU but still in hospital.

Mbali originally considered studying law but now added paramedics to her list of possible future careers.