Details of tragic accident that claimed the life of Hannes Strydom
It’s been confirmed that another life was lost when Hannes Strydom was involved in a fatal accident on Sunday night.
On Monday, many woke up to the tragic news that Hannes Strydom, a member of the Rugby World Cup-winning squad in 1995, had sadly passed away in a car accident on Sunday evening, aged 58.
Details of the tragic accident have now come to light, with the double cab bakkie he was travelling in apparently having rear-ended a taxi on the N4 highway in Mpumalanga.
N4 Trans African Concessions (TRAC) spokesperson Solange Soares stated that the crash also claimed the life of one passenger in the taxi. Among other injuries, four other people were left seriously injured.
The vehicle collision was reported just after 21:00, with Strydom and the other passenger of the taxi tragically unable to be saved.
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HANNES STRYDOM WAS PART OF A GOLDEN ERA DOMESTICALLY
Strydom, who was born on 13 July 1965, played in 21 Tests and 10 non-Tests between 1993 and 1997. Apart from helping the Springboks to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time, on home soil, in 1995, and facing the British & Irish Lions in 1997.
He was also a member of the Lions when they won the Super 10, Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup in the 1990s, and played provincially for the Eastern Province and the Bulls, finishing his career with more than 150 provincial appearances.
After his playing days, Strydom was a businessman who ran a pharmacy chain under the name of Pharma Valu in Pretoria. He also has his own range of vitamins and unique slimming products.
Recently, though, Strydom was at the centre of alleged involvement in the illicit sales of codeine products on the black market. You can see more about that story and his response here
He is the fifth member of the 1995 Springbok squad who has passed away, after Ruben Kruger, Joost van der Westhuizen, Chester Williams and James Small.
The now 58-year-old former Springbok survived an attempted carjacking and assault in 2014.
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TRIBUTES HAVE POURED IN
“Hannes was one of the great locks of his generation and as a member of the Springbok squad from 1995, one of the heroes of our local game,” said SA Rugby president Mark Alexander.
“He also played more than 100 games for the Lions at a time when they dominated the game in South Africa and won the Super 10 before it became Super Rugby, which underlined the quality of that team.
“Hannes, along with other players from that Lions team, such as Francois Pienaar, Balie Swart, Kobus Wiese, and Hennie le Roux, formed the core of the famous Bok squad that lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in South Africa in 1995.
“He was a hard-working lock who never shied away from getting stuck in and doing the dirty work. To lose yet another member of the iconic Bok squad from 1995 is a heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in South Africa and our thoughts and condolences are with his wife, Nikolie, their children, Annalie, Hannes and Lucy, family and friends in this very difficult time.”
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