Landon LaGrange. (Photo: Facebook)
A cyclist who was hit by a taxi in Kampsbaai on Monday died from his injuries in hospital on Tuesday morning.
Landon la Grange, a 61-year-old businessman, had his left leg amputated below the knee on Monday evening after the accident earlier in the day in Victoria Road.
Eyewitnesses and initial reports indicated that the taxi driver was apparently trying to pass several vehicles when he drove straight into a group of cyclists.
La Grange was seriously injured and suffered internal injuries, among other things. Both his arms were also broken.
Neil Robinson, chief executive of the Pedal Power Association (PPA), says La Grange has lost an enormous amount of blood. Robinson says La Grange, a good friend of his, has been cycling for four decades.
“His family is devastated. His wife, his children… they are a very close family.”
The police indicated after the accident that they were investigating a complaint of culpable homicide and reckless and negligent driving.
The accident scene. (Photo: Facebook)
Ian Cameron, a DA MP and chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on the police, says he has already made inquiries to find out why basic procedures, such as taking the driver’s blood alcohol level, were apparently not tested at the scene and the driver was arrested.
“I also ask if the charge will now be changed from culpable homicide to murder,” says Cameron.
Robinson says La Grange was an energetic person.
“He was a businessman, a family man. He was someone who grabbed life with both hands every morning.”
Robinson says better policing on roads and prosecution is needed.
“In any country, it is the police’s job to keep its citizens safe, exercise policing and provide protection.”
He says that in South Africa “we all break the law, because there is no policing.”