- Rudolf Köberl-Labenbacher was cycling 4km outside Swellendam when a vehicle struck him on Wednesday, 14 October 2026
- His wife Hertha received the devastating news from SAPS while at home in Vienna, hours after their final phone call
- The family has not heard from police since the incident and is still waiting for answers as a culpable homicide case was opened
A 72-year-old Austrian cyclist has died after being struck by a vehicle on the N2 national road near Swellendam in the Western Cape, leaving his family in grief and searching for answers from thousands of kilometres away.
Rudolf Köberl-Labenbacher was cycling approximately 4km outside Swellendam in the direction of Heidelberg when the collision occurred on Wednesday, 14 October 2026.
Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel FC van Wyk confirmed that he sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead at the scene by medical personnel. Swellendam police opened a culpable homicide case, and the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
Wife receives call from SAPS in Vienna
Köberl-Labenbacher's wife, Hertha, was at their home in Vienna when South African police contacted her shortly after 15:00 on the day of the collision. The call came only hours after the couple had spoken on the phone, as they did every day during his travels abroad.
In what turned out to be their last conversation, Köberl-Labenbacher spoke about the places he had visited, told Hertha how much he missed her, and ended the call eager to get back on his bicycle. He mentioned hoping to witness what he called a "majestic sunset."
Family Remembers an Adventurous Man
A relative named Andrea described Hertha as heartbroken and said she was not receiving visitors as she worked through the shock of her husband's death. The couple had been together for nearly 50 years, and one of Hertha's deepest sources of pain was the knowledge that she could not be at his side when he died.
Those who knew Köberl-Labenbacher remembered him as a kind and sporty individual with a deep love of nature. Extended international trips were a regular part of his life, and his family had grown used to him embarking on lengthy journeys across different countries.
His relatives are now assisting Hertha and working to arrange for his body to be repatriated to Austria for burial.
Andrea told reporters that the family had not received any communication from police since the fatal collision and remained in the dark about what exactly led to Köberl-Labenbacher's death. The case is ongoing, and no further details about the circumstances of the collision have been made public.
Source: Briefly News
Authors:
Hot: