Man dies in 'freak' golf cart accident

2012-04-10 11:22

Indhrannie Pillay & Stephanie Saville, The Witness

Durban - A freak golf cart accident. This is how devastated friends of Mooi River farm manager Rob Knox described his death at the Selborne Golf Club during the Easter Weekend.

Officials at the Pennington resort declined to provide details on Monday.

Knox, 42, and two friends were reportedly riding on a golf cart just after midnight on Friday when the tragedy struck.

Knox was standing on the back, while his friends - the driver and passenger - were seated in the cart.

Hit his head

Peter Botha, Knox’s boss at Northington Farm at Kamberg, said: “It was a freak accident. He was standing on the back of an old golf cart, and it went over a speed bump and he fell off and hit his head. He didn’t wake up.”

Botha described Knox as his friend and farm manager

“I didn’t have to worry about the farm. He took care of everything.”

Knox “was a lovely man”, who had a heart “the size of a truck”.

Botha, who lives in Ballito, said he travelled to Selborne as soon as he heard about the accident.

Knox is survived by his wife Bridget, children Nathan, 13, and Megan, 19, and mother Maricia.

Botha said family and friends were “devastated”.

While Knox enjoyed playing golf, his “big passion was off-road motorbikes”, a hobby he enjoyed with Nathan.

Bridget Knox described her husband as a wonderful outgoing person, who would have given the shirt off his back to help others.

“He touched the lives of many people, which I have discovered in the last few days. He was an amazing father who doted on our children and loved them immensely.”

She thanked a host of friends who had rallied to her family’s support.

“I would like to also thank his dirt bike riding mates for riding for him on Saturday, and not for cancelling their ride, as Rob would have kicked some serious butt if they had cancelled,” she said.

Funeral arrangements were still being finalised.

Culpable homicide docket

Police spokesperson Captain Thulani Zwane said the golf cart was negotiating a bend when it hit a bump.

“It appears as though he hit his head on the ground surface and died as a result.”

Police were still completing statements from witnesses.

“We are still trying to track down the driver of the cart,” Zwane said.

A culpable homicide docket is being investigated. A post-mortem would be conducted to determine a cause of death.

Patrick Hurly, who manages the hotel on the estate, said that Knox was not his client so he could not comment on the incident. “Mr Knox stayed at one of the villas which is not managed by the hotel. We do not know what happened. Our only involvement is that our staff were on duty at the time and were able to assist the group where they could,” he said.

Knox and his friends were staying in a villa owned by Dennis Barker.

Barker’s daughter, Denise Cartwright, said: “My father never met Knox, but we are all very heartbroken by what has happened to him.

“It was a freak accident that we cannot understand. Our sympathies go out to his wife and children.”

Selborne Estate manager Daryl Botha, Elma Fahrbecker from the Villa Body Corporate and Amanda Jefferies, who manages the golf club, declined to comment.

- The Witness