“Game of Thrones” editor Kate Chappell’s safari tour guide claims an employee of the South African park refused to assist him after Chappell had been mauled to death by a lioness.
Pierre Potgeier, the owner of Kalabash Tours, reportedly attempted to stop Chappell’s bleeding after the attack occurred inside his vehicle when the animal lunged through an open window. When an employee of the Fourways Lion Park arrived on the scene, Potgeier asked that he and the victim be driven to a medical facility.
“The employee appeared reluctant to do this, and left Mr Potgieter and the victim in the vehicle. The ambulance only arrived some time thereafter,” the tour company said in a statement to ABC News.
Potgeier suffered a heart attack during the incident and is still in intensive care. Park officials have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Chappell was a visual effects artist and editor who had previously worked on multiple episodes of the hit HBO show “Game of Thrones.” She was visiting South Africa as part of a mission to protect native wildlife from poachers.
According to official reports, the vehicle “stopped to view a pride of lions” and Chappell rolled down her window to take a picture, despite multiple signs and verbal warnings that doing so was forbidden within the park. A lioness then leapt through the open window, causing severe injuries to Chappell that eventually led to her death.
“Mr. Potgieter strongly denies that they were driving around the lion enclosures with open windows,” the statement from the tour company says. “The tourist had a camera and, of her own accord, rolled down the passenger window in order to take photographs.”
In addition to her work on “Game of Thrones,” Chappell also performed special effects work on blockbusters like “Godzilla” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
“Katie was a brilliant, kind, adventurous and high-spirited woman,” Chappell’s sister, Jennifer, wrote in a tribute posted on Facebook. “Her energy and passion could not be contained by mere continents or oceans. She was very much loved and shared her love for life with those she met.”