The man who drowned after aiding a stranded driver in Blackheath has been identified as Jannie Mars.
The 52-year-old father of two died on Thursday morning while trying to cross a flooded road but was swept away by the powerful floodwaters.
His family shared that Jannie, a skilled mechanic, would never ignore someone in need of help.
A resident of Wesbank, Jannie had left his car at a petrol station and proceeded to walk to his workplace.
During his walk, he encountered a woman whose car was trapped in water on Range Road, Blackheath.
Eyewitness Denishia Ruiters describes how Jannie stopped to help push the car out of the water.
“It was around 6am when he helped take the car out of the water and he waited with the woman for two hours before the tow truck arrived,”
Denishia recalls.
“At 8.10am, he took his lunch bag and started walking and I told him the traffic cop said no one was allowed to walk across the road and that if we did, it was at our own risk because they didn’t know how deep the water was,”
she continues.
“I told him to call his bosses and explain the situation, but he said he was leaving.”
“When I saw him walk to the canal, I shouted that he was going to step into the water, and that is when he took his final step.”
Fire and Rescue services arrived at the scene 20 minutes after he had drowned. His body was retrieved after 1pm.
Jannie’s nephew, Rezak Mohammed, explained how they discovered the incident via social media.
“We saw the CCTV footage of someone falling into a drain, but we didn’t recognise him,”
Rezak says.
“At night around 6pm, my aunt became worried when he didn’t come home. We went to his workplace and it was closed already.
“And then we went to the police station and the police officers asked for his description and that is how we found out that it was him on the video.”
Rezak describes his uncle as a generous man who will be greatly missed.
Jannie Mars’ selfless act of kindness ultimately cost him his life, leaving behind a grieving family and a legacy of compassion and bravery.
