Robert Tshikhudo was an aspiring young family man who was full of dreams in his life – but his world turned upside down last Saturday, April 29, following a bus accident that left him with only one leg.

Tshikhudo, 31, was one of the seriously injured people in an accident that also claimed the life of Esther Mabeka at Ha-Makuya village, outside Thohoyandou.

Tshikhudo says he was standing next to the bus driver when the Magwaba bus approached a steep decline on very bad gravel road.

“Realizing that the bus was out of his control, the driver jumped out after he managed to avoid a head-on collision with a van that was transporting firewood. From there, the bus rolled once before it landed on its roof. While I was still trapped inside the bus, I felt diesel falling on me. As I was scared that the bus might catch fire, I smashed a window and crawled for three metres. That was when I realized that I had left my leg inside the bus, as it was trapped inside,” explains Tshikhudo from his bed at Donald Frazer hospital.

Tshikhudo, who was employed as a cleaner at one of the contractors at Tshikondeni, says he has accepted the fate of living with one leg.

“My wife, Naledzani Malulute, lost her left hand during a car accident in Musina at the age of six. I have discussed my situation with her, and we agreed that we will support each other through thick and thin. My only concern is that our son, Tshimangadzo, will be raised by disabled parents,” says Tshikhudo.

Tshikhudo says a lack of transport in his area, Ha-Makuya, forced him to board the bus that was having mechanical problems. “There were six women who refused to continue travelling in that bus, because they said it was unsafe. But the majority of us got into the bus because we knew it would be difficult to get other transport. I was also expecting to arrive home early so that I could watch the Absa Cup match between Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns.”

Police spokesperson Superintendent Ailwei Mushavhanandi says they had opened a culpable homicide against the driver.