A Bonteheuwel neighbourhood watch member was killed and several others injured after an alleged drunk driver ploughed into a shop.
Sabrina Martin was standing in front of a shop a few metres away from her Ivory Street home on Saturday night.
Her son Craig Muller, 29, says he heard a loud bang and went out to discover his mom dead under a white Nissan NP200 bakkie.
Four others were rushed to hospital for medical treatment.
Police have arrested a man for the incident.
A devastated Craig says: “She was underneath the car and the driver still wanted to drive off.
“I took out the keys and then went to feel my mom’s pulse and I couldn’t feel anything.
“I called my friends and told them what happened and they called the police.”
The hartseer man adds he spoke to his mom just moments before the incident, saying: “I greeted her and said goodnight because when she sits there, she comes [home] late. They would normally sit by the shop or move around to street corners.
“I went inside and I was peeling the potatoes and I just heard a loud bang and ran outside with the potato and knife in my hands.
“I knew she was there but when I saw there was no one standing by the shop. I ran to the bakkie and that is when I found her.”
Craig says it is a cruel irony that his mother was killed by a drunk driver as he always feared she would be harmed while patrolling.
He adds: “She was passionate about keeping the neighbourhood safe, she didn’t like the burglaries that were happening in the area.”
Craig says his mother and others formed the neighbourhood watch and she regularly patrolled with them, explaining: “She would come from work and go, even for an hour. But sometimes she would stay up all night guarding the community. I didn’t approve of it because of the danger, but she was killed by a drunk driver.”
Ward councillor Angus McKenzie says Martin served her community diligently, adding: “Her loss will be deeply felt by all that interacted with this amazing community worker. This is indeed a very sad time for all of us.”
Bishop Lavis Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Graham Lindhorst condemned the killing, saying: “We understand the guy who was driving was allegedly drunk. Our condolences go out to the family.
“She died while preparing for a good cause (a campaign for women) which we will support on November 18.”
The CPF will arrange the memorial service for later this week.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg says a 21-year-old man was arrested and will appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrates’ Court once charged.
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