Identity
Person No.
32587
Old ROH no.
1181
Service No.
82342627BG
Last Name
First Name
Andre Petrus
Initials
A P
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
21
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
MVA 2,635
Motor vehicle accident
Cause of Death
Died in Military Vehicle Accident, 10 kms South of Windhoek. Bulldozer on Lowbed following pilot Bakkie going South near Luiperdvallei, Windhoek. Convoy with Ratel and Samil 20 coming North. As Bakkie driver passes over a low water bridge he realises it is too narrow to allow the lowbed and the Ratel convoy at the same time, and slams on his brakes to try and signal the Lowbed to stop, but too late as it is already onto the bridge. The lowbed unfortunately can't stop in time and hits the bakkie, smashing it off the road to the left. The impact throws the lowbed out to the right where it narrowly misses the swerving Ratel but unfortunately the blade of the Bulldozer on the back, which is protruding out wider than the lowbed, makes contact and rips the Ratel open like a can of sardines. This impact then throws the Ratel off the road and the lowbed further off line impacting the Samil 20 head on. Bakkie and Samil 20 drivers killed
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Private
Regiment
Unknown
Corps
Defence Force
SADF 3,839
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Notes
***May have been 4 SAI. No additional information known at this time
Research notes
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Air Force" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Army". Across the roll 787 records carried such a contradiction; judged against Corps and Regiment -- independent of both columns -- the evidence backed Branch 744 times and Unit2 not once. Branch is therefore kept and the contradicting word removed. Nothing is guessed: this man's branch of service is already recorded, and his sub-unit, if any, is simply not known.
Citations
Unknown
External References
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), pages 107-108 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
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