Traffic officer’s swift thinking saves Table View councillor after stroke
Councillor Sue Van der Linde and traffic officer Anathi Ndyalvan.
Image: CoCT
Traffic officer, Anathi Ndyalvan, had no idea that on May 4 he would be saving the life of Cape Town councillor Sue van der Linde.
Van der Linde is the ward councillor of ward 113, representing areas including Table View, Flamingo Vlei, Killarney Gardens, and Parklands.
According to the City of Cape Town, the councillor started feeling ill behind the wheel along the N1 highway and made it into the emergency lane before passing out.
Officer Ndyalvan stopped to assist her and noted the need for urgent medical care.
The officer decided to drive the councillor to a nearby hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
Upon arrival at the medical facility, Van der Linde was informed she suffered a stroke, and the officer’s swift actions saved her life.
“‘As the ER doctor said, out of every stroke, there are only about 2% of people who make it in time for the injection and had it been half an hour later, they would not dispense the medication to you because of the risk," Van der Linde said.
Officer Ndyalvan was treated to a surprise appreciation for his heroic act.
His appreciation ceremony comes a week after his colleague, inspector Faith Blaauw, was reunited with a family whom she assisted in November 2023, when the mom went into labour at just 23 weeks.
At the weekend, the actions of traffic officer Ricardo Arnold went viral after a mother took to social media to praise him for helping her and her two children after they were stranded along Jakes Gerwel Drive near Samora Machel on Friday night due to a tyre burst.
Arnold stayed with the family, arranged a tow truck, and escorted them to a garage where he inspected the other wheels to ensure they were in order.
Safety and Security mayco member JP Smith expressed his pride at the actions of the officers.
“These anecdotes are all proof that there is plenty of care and quick thinking in our Traffic Service.
"The officers are often maligned, because their job is to hold people accountable, a fact that isn’t always welcomed.
"But every day, officers across the Safety and Security Directorate do amazing things and I have heard the experiences of motorists and the relief they feel when one of our vehicles arrive to assist,” Smith said.