Australian star killed in crash
12 April 2009, 07:41
By Noelene Barbeau
What should have been a fun-filled and memorable family holiday for Australian film-maker, former footballer and winner of the Australian Survivor series, Robert Dickson, ended in tragedy on Friday night when he and his five-year-old youngest son, Byron, died in a car accident on the road from Sun City.
Dickson's wife, Susan Cuttell, and his other son, Gabriel, 8, were taken to Unitas Hospital in Centurion, Pretoria. She is said to be in a stable condition while Gabriel is in the children's intensive care unit.
An ICU nurse said it was difficult to comment on Gabriel's condition, except to say that he was "not as stable" as they would have liked.
The Australian was in South Africa on holiday with his family and was due to join the Australian Football League (AFL) Academy tour of South Africa next week.
"Susan's family is from Zimbabwe and we are all down in South Africa on holiday," said family spokesperson Gavin Rorke, Susan's brother-in-law, from Zimbabwe. "Rob, Susan, the two boys and my son, Glynne, were travelling from Sun City to meet us in Pretoria."
Rorke's son is also at Unitas Hospital in the high care ward.
Rorke said he was not too clear on the details of the accident, as he was given conflicting stories by the police.
He said the Dicksons and Glynne were travelling in a Suzuki car and Rob was driving.
Mandla Mathebula, North West Province Transport spokesperson, said a collied with the Suzuki on the Sun City road. Then,while police and emergency services were clearing the scene, an Opel Astra collided with a police van parked on the road. The two people in the Astra died at the scene. Their names were not available as their family were still to be informed.
Netcare 911 North West Province spokesperson Mark Stokoe said a paramedic on the scene said the driver's door of the car in which the Australian family were travelling was smashed.
The little boy died at the scene, his father died while on the way to hospital.
Dickson, 45, was a former Hawthorn and Brisbane footballer and well-known for his football documentaries, including "Essence of the Game" and "Shane Crawford Exposed".
Australian newspapers widely reported on the tragedy, quoting his friends and family.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou described Dickson as a talented and humble man: "He was a personal friend and a great and positive force in life. He was a wonderful film-maker but, above all, he was a wonderful person who brought enormous empathy to what he was doing.
"He was one of those rare people who could capture on film the passion and beauty of the game and articulate in images exactly what we all love about the game yet struggle to be able to put into words," Demetriou told The Age newspaper in Australia.
Dickson's brother, Don, said the family was shattered by the news of the accident and family members were flying to South Africa. He was as saying by the AFL website.
"Rob was a wonderful brother, a wonderful son and father to his boys. He achieved so much in his life as a footballer, as a contestant on 'Australian Survivor' and with his film production work - and also as a loving and kind father.
"He was really just a shining light. From an early age he was sensational at everything to which he turned his hand - but above all he was such a wonderful person we loved so much."
Dickson won the first Australian 'Survivor' series in 2002. The Herald Sun said that, after being named the winner, Dickson vowed he would use some of the cash to bring his wife's family to Australia from her native Zimbabwe.
What should have been a fun-filled and memorable family holiday for Australian film-maker, former footballer and winner of the Australian Survivor series, Robert Dickson, ended in tragedy on Friday night when he and his five-year-old youngest son, Byron, died in a car accident on the road from Sun City.
Dickson's wife, Susan Cuttell, and his other son, Gabriel, 8, were taken to Unitas Hospital in Centurion, Pretoria. She is said to be in a stable condition while Gabriel is in the children's intensive care unit.
An ICU nurse said it was difficult to comment on Gabriel's condition, except to say that he was "not as stable" as they would have liked.
The Australian was in South Africa on holiday with his family and was due to join the Australian Football League (AFL) Academy tour of South Africa next week.
"Susan's family is from Zimbabwe and we are all down in South Africa on holiday," said family spokesperson Gavin Rorke, Susan's brother-in-law, from Zimbabwe. "Rob, Susan, the two boys and my son, Glynne, were travelling from Sun City to meet us in Pretoria."
Rorke's son is also at Unitas Hospital in the high care ward.
Rorke said he was not too clear on the details of the accident, as he was given conflicting stories by the police.
He said the Dicksons and Glynne were travelling in a Suzuki car and Rob was driving.
Mandla Mathebula, North West Province Transport spokesperson, said a collied with the Suzuki on the Sun City road. Then,while police and emergency services were clearing the scene, an Opel Astra collided with a police van parked on the road. The two people in the Astra died at the scene. Their names were not available as their family were still to be informed.
Netcare 911 North West Province spokesperson Mark Stokoe said a paramedic on the scene said the driver's door of the car in which the Australian family were travelling was smashed.
The little boy died at the scene, his father died while on the way to hospital.
Dickson, 45, was a former Hawthorn and Brisbane footballer and well-known for his football documentaries, including "Essence of the Game" and "Shane Crawford Exposed".
Australian newspapers widely reported on the tragedy, quoting his friends and family.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou described Dickson as a talented and humble man: "He was a personal friend and a great and positive force in life. He was a wonderful film-maker but, above all, he was a wonderful person who brought enormous empathy to what he was doing.
"He was one of those rare people who could capture on film the passion and beauty of the game and articulate in images exactly what we all love about the game yet struggle to be able to put into words," Demetriou told The Age newspaper in Australia.
Dickson's brother, Don, said the family was shattered by the news of the accident and family members were flying to South Africa. He was as saying by the AFL website.
"Rob was a wonderful brother, a wonderful son and father to his boys. He achieved so much in his life as a footballer, as a contestant on 'Australian Survivor' and with his film production work - and also as a loving and kind father.
"He was really just a shining light. From an early age he was sensational at everything to which he turned his hand - but above all he was such a wonderful person we loved so much."
Dickson won the first Australian 'Survivor' series in 2002. The Herald Sun said that, after being named the winner, Dickson vowed he would use some of the cash to bring his wife's family to Australia from her native Zimbabwe.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Sunday Tribune on April 12, 2009
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