A tribute to those who died in the line of duty
It is with great sorrow and sadness that we take note of the passing of two of the N4/Nkomazi’s most faithful civilian volunteers and first responders. During the early hours of Saturday 23 August 2025, the team under the leadership of Patric D’Hollander was active at the N4/Jeppes Reef Junction. They were wrapping up a major accident scene in association with emergency services, when a vehicle heading towards Komatipoort entered the well-lit incident scene at high speed. The collision fatally injured two persons and injured a third.
Those fatally injured were Zelma D’Hollander, spouse of Patrik and one of the founding volunteers, Donovan Prince, a driven young man heavily vested in community work. Letta Taylor sustained serious injuries and is currently in care at a hospital in Nelspruit. Other volunteers and officials on site were left traumatized.
Zelma and Donovan, and all the volunteers regularly put their safety and lives on the line, as part of a team that renders a vital service to our communities and travellers along the N4. They are as often as not the first responders of accidents and other emergency situations and key to coordinating EMS, traffic and other responses. They have saved many lives over time.
In the absence of reliable institutional structures, resources and incident management capacity in the region, their services have been vital to locals and visitors alike. To this effect, the KLCBT honoured Patrik and Zelma for their long-standing volunteer service and contribution to society, at our Annual Awards in 2023. (Picture below) They, along with their team, have also represented a key element to tourist safety and support, in association with the KLCBT tourism emergency after care service.
On behalf of KLCBT as well as the communities of Malalane and Nkomazi and all those that use the N4 in Nkomazi, we gratefully acknowledge their contribution and sacrifice. Our hearts are with their loved ones, friends and colleagues.
