'That car came straight at us'
Johannesburg - Had Alberto Riccardi not overslept, he could have been one of the joggers that was hit by an alleged drugged 27 year-old motorist in Edenvale.
Two of Riccardi's jogging mates, Richard Albrecht, 38, and Joe Mendoza, 42, died at the scene of the accident in Herman Street, Meadowdale, after a motorist ploughed into four joggers of the Bedfordview Country Club at about 05:30.
Dr Wayne Korras, 43, general practitioner in Dunvegan, was taken to the Milpark hospital in Johannesburg in a critical condition by helicopter.
Karl Quinn, 20, was taken to the same hospital by ambulance.
"I did not jog with the guys as my alarm clock did not go off.
"We (the athletes) usually went away together over weekends.
Escaped being hit
"Those that you jog with, are more like friends," a shocked Riccardi, chair of the club's athletics division, said.
According to Arlene Lawson, sports administrator of the club, the athletes do their practice runs every morning - Mondays excluded - to prepare for marathons such as the Comrades and the Two Oceans.
Mendoza's wife, Dina, is pregnant with their second child, scheduled to be born next week.
Albrecht and his wife, Helena, don't have children.
Grant Greeff, 36, and Michelle Kellock, 36, who were in the same group, were lucky not to be hit by the vehicle.
"I saw the approaching car and thought it was getting closer too fast.
"I jumped out of the way and I think I escaped being hit by a fraction of a second," Greeff said.
The car apparently swerved across the road.
"That car came around a curve at a speed.
"It literally came for us," Kellock said.
Kobeli Mokheseng, spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni metro police, confirmed that the suspect did not test positively for alcohol, but it is believed that he was under the influence of drugs.
Drugged
Blood samples were taken in the Edenvale Hospital for tests to establish what type of drug he had used.
The suspect was only slightly injured in the accident.
Inspector Prudence Mvelase, East Rand police spokesperson, said it was expected that the driver of the car would appear in the Germiston magistrate's court on Monday on a charge of culpable homicide.
According to Riccardi, Korras was still in a critical but stable condition at the deadline.
Quinn is believed to be conscious, but both his legs were broken and he has a fracture of the skull.
Milpark hospital refused to provide any information about the injured in terms of a wish of the families.
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