Tow-Surfing Updates

Late Update Monday AM :: Please pray for a miracle on Glenn's behalf

Dear Friends, 
 
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 November, 2007 : - - Ross Lindsay just sent me an update from South Africa.  The news is not promising, as of 8:36am South African time on Monday, Glenn is unresponsive and taken a negative turn. Pierre du Plessis asks that we all pray throughout the day for a miracle.
 
Glenn is a soul-dier, please keep him and his family in your thoughts today during this very difficult time.
 
With love, 

Shawn Alladio / K38

Tow-surfer Glenn Bee in coma following horrific traffic accident in Kommetjie 

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 25 November, 2007 : - - It is with great sadness and concern I write on behalf of our good friend Glenn and his family. Please pray for the families of Brian Crabb and Glenn Bee as the recovery process begins for these families. 
 
Glenn is not only a well respected waterman, he is part of our family.  Glenn will need all your prayers and well wishes as he recovers from a horrific accident, please keep him in your thoughts and send your well wishes to his wife Cathy, their daughter Jody and son Dean.  K38-South Africa and all our friends and colleagues send our love and kindest regards. 
 
'Ready guys? Let's do it!' Come on Glenn, just like getting ready for the Dungeons delights we so love...! I can see you grinning right now....getting ready to go into the pit, inspired!
 
Shawn Alladio

Glenn Bee teaching a K38 course : photo courtesy K38 Rescue 

Hit-and-run: 23-year-old man arrested  | iol.co.za report by Clayton Barnes 

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 25 November, 2007 : - - A 23-year-old man was arrested in Fish Hoek late on Saturday on a charge of culpable homicide and reckless and negligent driving after a bakkie smashed into two cyclists near Kommetjie, killing one. The man is due to appear in the Simon's Town magistrate's court on Monday.

His arrest came as a result of police inquiries into a numberplate left lying in the road. Scottish-born cyclist Brian Crabb, 35, was killed and his companion, veteran Cape Town surfer Glenn Bee, 57, was seriously injured. Late on Saturday, after hours of surgery, Bee was in a coma and his condition was described as critical.

A speeding white Isuzu bakkie hit Crabb and Bee while they were out training for next year's Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour. The incident occurred just after 6am.

Witnesses said after the bakkie ploughed into the cyclists near Ocean View, the driver stopped a few metres on and - ignoring the two figures lying on the road - dragged a buckled bicycle from under his vehicle then drove off. His numberplate was left lying in the road.

Speaking to Weekend Argus at the Vincent Pallotti hospital in Pinelands on Saturday where Bee was undergoing emergency surgery, his wife Catherine said she was still in shock. "I'm a compassionate person and I would have understood had it been an accident, but don't hit cyclists and just drive away. That's cowardly," said Bee.

Glenn Bee is one of South Africa's first tow-surfers, a sport in which jetskis tow the surfer into a big breaking wave. He is also an executive of Bee Painters and Waterproofers in Cape Town. Crabb, a carpenter, had been living with the Bees in Kommetjie for 13 years. He wasn't a cyclist or a surfer, but decided to join Bee for the Cycle Tour next March.

Catherine Bee said Crabb's family had been informed. "We'll remain in contact until they decide what the next step is." Jody Bee, 23, the Bees' older child, was shattered at the news of the accident. "All we can do now is hope for the best, it could go any way," she said.

"My dad is such a fun guy and so safety conscious and now this happens. This is also not his first cycling accident. About six years ago he fell down the mountain with his bike and broke his collarbone. "He's been through so much and has diabetes." Bee's son, Dean, 21, is set to arrive from Denmark on Sunday "to be with the family".

Red Bull Big Wave Africa Water Safety Team included Glenn Bee : photo courtesy K38 Rescue  

Robert Bateman, a Noordhoek cyclist, witnessed the crash and called paramedics. He had been cycling on the opposite side of the road and heard a big bang before seeing one of the bicycles fly through the air. "It was a horrifying sight," said Bateman. "The driver stopped about 150m from where the cyclists were hit, pulled one of the bikes from under his vehicle and sped off.

"The cyclist I was tending to had serious head injuries, while the other one had already died. I think he died on impact. "I'm very angry and I hope this incident will once again highlight the plight of cyclists in the city. We are totally ignored on the roads. More respect is desperately needed." Bateman said there was "no doubt" the motorist was travelling well over Kommetjie Road's 60km/h speed limit.

Surfing journalist Steve Pike, author of the new book Surfing South Africa, in which Bee features, said the incident was "terrible news". "This is shocking," said Pike. "The irony of this is that Glenn faces some unbelievably life-threatening conditions in the surf, and now he's injured like this. My condolences to his family. Our prayers are with them."

David Bellairs of the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust and organiser of the Cycle Tour lashed out at irresponsible motorists, saying they needed to be more tolerant on the roads. He said an increasing number of cyclists had begun preparing for the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour on routes across the city. "It's important for motorists to drive responsibly," he said.

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Source iol.co.za / Clayton Barnes
Contributed by K38 Rescue 

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