'He was my world' - daughter of airport assault victim

“He was my world. I felt his love every day.”

This is how Dr Isa Orlianski‚ the daughter of the 71-year-old man who died after a fight with an Uber driver at OR Tambo International Airport‚ described her father.

Zalman Orlianski was left critically injured following a fight with an Uber driver over a parking spot at the Johannesburg airport last weekend.

He died on Sunday evening.

The driver is due to appear in court on Monday.

Uber SA confirmed last week that the man who was caught on CCTV camera beating Orlianski was one of their drivers.

His access to the app was immediately suspended. 

“If there was a problem or a celebration‚ he could never get there quick enough‚” Isa said about her father.

“His presence‚ his energy‚ his infectious laugh - you could feel it as he entered the room. He fell in love with my mom the moment he met her and he loved her wholeheartedly.”

Family spokesperson and Isa’s husband Daniel Witz described Orlianski as a “dedicated” husband and loving father.

Orlianski and his wife Inna had been married for 34 years and had three children: Isa‚ Jonathan and Zvi.

“Mr Orlianski’s entire reason for being was his family. He had incredible values and morals - a man of integrity‚ a loyal friend and the most hard-working‚ determined businessman‚ loyal to his customers‚” said Witz.

“He taught us about perseverance‚ forgiveness‚ leadership‚ hard work and‚ most of all‚ he taught us about putting family first.

“He had the most amazing laugh and he taught us that making people laugh - something we will never be able to do as well as him - is as important as anything else.”

Orlianski was a successful businessman. He was qualified as an electronic engineer and had also obtained an MBA.

“The hard work ethic that my father demonstrated every day‚ he instilled in me. I can only continue to honour him by facing any challenge‚” said his son Jonathan.

“The most precious value in Judaism is life‚ and he loved life. He taught me to water ski‚ he took me shark cage diving‚ paragliding and scuba diving.”

"This is incredibly sad news‚" a spokesperson for Uber SA said on Monday. “Our hearts go out to the family. We will continue to stay in touch with them to offer our support.

"We trust that law enforcement and the judicial system will do their best to ensure that justice prevails. We stand ready to help police with any additional information needed for their investigation."

Orlianski will be buried on Tuesday at Johannesburg's West Park Jewish Cemetery.

The driver‚ a 30-year-old man from Daveyton‚ was initially charged with assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm after the elderly motorist sustained a head injury that left him in a critical condition in hospital.

Uber SA said it has removed the driver from its app‚ after camera footage of the argument was obtained.

Last week‚ the airport said the altercation took place on Sunday September 9 at 10.12am.

“Airport management has viewed video footage of the incident. The video shows that an altercation broke out between a driver in a green SUV and a driver in a gold vehicle. The video shows that the SUV driver got out of his vehicle and kicked the fender of the gold vehicle‚” said the airport.

The driver of the gold vehicle got out and the two men argued‚ then began throwing punches.

The airport said an airport security officer patrolling the lower roadway intervened within one minute of the incident.

The driver of the gold vehicle then went into the passenger terminal building and returned with two people and their luggage. While the driver of the gold vehicle was loading luggage into the boot‚ the driver of the green SUV returned and resumed the confrontation.

Punches were again thrown‚ as the airport security officer again attempted to separate the individuals.

During the brawl‚ the driver of the SUV fell to the ground. The driver of the gold vehicle then drove off.

The airport said its security officer could be seen in the video attempting to separate the individuals and resolve matters throughout the altercation‚ which lasted about four minutes. Additional airport security officers arrived on the scene within five minutes.