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A truck driver who died of a heart attack on the road is being hailed a hero for pulling in to the emergency lane, seemingly to avoid crashing into anybody as he went into distress.
"My dad promised my mom... that anytime, it doesn't matter where it is, when he's not feeling well, he needs to pull over," his grieving daughter Zena told News24 on Sunday.
"And that is what he did."
She said she was not surprised to hear that he had thought of the welfare of others.
"That is my dad."
The 55-year-old truck driver was found on the N4 to Bronkhorstspruit while on one of the countless trips he has taken since the age of 19.
He had spoken to his wife Hannetjie on November 8, and later someone told the family they had seen his truck parked on the side of the road.
"We
started phoning," said Zena. "There's something wrong with daddy,"
spread through the family and when they located him hours later, he had
died.
Zena said that the outpouring of appreciation for his actions would have surprised her father.
She paid tribute to her father as a "fun person" with a passion for cooking and trucking.
Many of her childhood memories are filled with driving in the cab with him, listening to the Elvis Presley songs he loved.
When he had free time he loved to cook - especially curries and potjies.
And then there were the days when he would simply say to her: "Come meisiekind. Let's go and braai."
