Darryn August recounts the day he was flung from a moving train and broke his back
JUST AFTER 8AM ON MONDAY, 25 April, I boarded a train from Athlone for Somerset West, outside Cape Town – my regular commute. For the most part it was like any other Monday, except a few delays had caused me to miss my regular travel time. Not ideal, because if you don’t catch one of the two or three peak-hour trains, on that route you run the risk of getting into trouble – train delays, gangsters, criminals... a lot can happen. I just about found myself in that bracket. It had happened in the past and I’d been fine, but this particular day I just felt like something was going to unfold.
Prelude to Disaster
It got sketchier and sketchier the closer we got to Somerset West. There were so few commuters on the train that it was being emptied at every station, which is never a good thing. Part of the reason why the early commutes are safer is because they stay full all the way through.
Just before Somerset a heavy group of guys [news reports say nine] got on the train. It was just me and a few women on the carriage. All of us had our valuables out and that, of course, attracted their attention.
Fight or Flight
This story is from the September 2016 edition of Men's Health South Africa.
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This story is from the September 2016 edition of Men's Health South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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