Man stuck without petrol dead
MYSTERY DEATH: Valentino Peters of Wesbank. Picture supplied
A mother from Wesbank is seeking answers after her son was found dead, after getting stuck without petrol.
Valentino Peters, 20, was discovered along the N1 about 15km from Touwsrivier on Wednesday. He was last seen skelmpies jumping onto the back of a truck leaving a garage.
His mother Joseline, 49, says his white VW Golf got stuck on the N1 and Valentino hiked to a garage to get petrol.
“He was known as Pang and he worked in Epping, he had a good heart and I think sometimes people abused that,” the hartseer mom says.
“Last Sunday some family members asked him to fetch a boy from Beaufort West.
“At about 6pm I started worrying and I asked a boy here where he was, and he told me Pang had gone to Beaufort West with four friends that stayed here in our street. I was shocked because that was far.
“Pang sent me a message to say they got stuck near Ceres but I mustn’t worry. He left his phone and wallet with the friends and hiked to a garage for petrol.”
The family of the other boys went to Touwsrivier to fetch them last Monday, Joseline adds, but Pang could not be found.
“On Tuesday we went to the police and on Wednesday they told us they found his body,” she said. “Footage from a garage shows that he jumped onto a truck, he did not have a petrol can. His death is a mystery to us. We don’t know how he died.”
SAPS spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi has confirmed that Touwsrivier police found the body on Wednesday at around 9.25am next to the N1.
“Touwsriver police registered an inquest for further investigation,” he added.