A woman has told of a heartbreaking discovery she made when returning to her boyfriend’s home following a tragic horror crash that claimed his life. Nathan Scholz, 25, died early in the morning on Tuesday, April 25, when he was struck by a vehicle at a giant copper mine at BHP Olympic Dam, South Australia. On the night of his death, her parents discovered a ring at his home that he planned to bring on vacation next week with his childhood sweetheart.
Bianca Sonntag told the Adelaide Advertiser that she and Nathan were heading to the island nation of Fiji “in a week’s time”.
After discovering the ring at the late truck driver’s home, her parents found he had “the most romantic evening planned” to propose, she said.
They told Bianca that he had prepared for the moment by taking “the best bottle of wine” he could find to their home and asked for their blessing.
But he died before he could make the final proposal when he was killed by a vehicle while walking in the Olympic Dam’s vicinity earlier this week.
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Mr Scholz was working driving trucks at the location after beginning work as a diesel service technician for BHP contractor Murray Engineering in July 2021.
Police attended the incident and have launched an investigation after declaring the 25-year-old dead at the scene.
Ms Sontag remembered her partner of 11 years as a man with a “heart of gold and the greatest sense of humour”.
She said he was her best friend and “loved by his beautiful family”.
Her parents, she added, thought of him as one of their own, being “like a son” to them.
The couple met while studying at Nuriootpa High School in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, near the state capital Adelaide.
Ms Sontag said he was “one of the smartest kids in our year” and was “always blitzing his grades and getting school awards”.
She concluded: “He will be forever in our hearts.”
A spokesman for BHP said on Tuesday that the company was “deeply saddened” to confirm a member of the Olympic Dam workforce had died.
They added: “Our thoughts are with the person’s family, friends and colleagues and we are offering all the support we can during this difficult time.”