They are still battling to come to terms with the sudden death of their son and to make the situation worse, they do not feel the matter has been handled properly by the authorities.
Marie and Piet Coetzer are mourning the death of Marie’s son Jaco Basson (24), who was killed in a collision between his motorcycle and a bakkie on New Year’s Eve, at the corner of Willow and Rietfontein roads, Primrose (Biker dies in Rietfontein Road accident).
Basson was hit by the driver of a bakkie and died at the scene of the accident.
He was born in Alberton and moved with his family to Fishers’ Hill when he was a young boy.
When Basson was eight years old, his dad André passed away and his mother later remarried. Piet raised him and his brothers Nico (28) and Leon (20) as his own.
He got along very well with his step-brothers Quanton (20) and Petrus (24).
“He and Petrus were always together,” said Marie.
“They got on extremely well.”
The family was close and loved spending time together.
Basson was in a long-term relationship with his partner Lizette Meyer and the couple had had a child together, Catherine (2).
“He was friendly and out-going, and can be described as ‘a real ladies’ man’,” Piet said.
“He was always smiling and did not like confrontation,” Marie said.
“He had given his heart to the Lord and he and his daughter were baptised together on October 9, last year.
“He read the Bible every day and I know he is with God.”
Marie said to lose a child is the worst thing any parent can endure.
“A piece of my heart has been taken away,” she said.
“He will be missed by all and we will always love him and he will forever be in our minds and hearts.”
At the time of the accident, Marie and Piet were on holiday in Mossel Bay. Upon hearing the news, Marie flew home while Piet travelled up by car.
The couple feels the EMPD did not handle the accident scene properly and they feel the SAPS is not handling the culpable homicide case effectively.
“My main concern is that no one asked if there were witnesses on the scene that day,” Piet said.
“Also, the bakkie’s licence disc was expired and the metro police did nothing about this. The accident report wasn’t filled in correctly.
“Another issue was the fact that the EMPD did not stay on-scene until the body was removed.”
The couple is also not happy about the way the Primrose SAPS is currently handling the culpable homicide case.
“Statements have not been followed up and we had to take some eye witnesses to the investigating officer to give their statements, she didn’t go out to them,” Piet said.
“We also took her to some of the eye witnesses after we found them.
“She gives us no feedback.”
The GCN requested comment from both the EMPD and SAPS regarding the family’s concerns.
Acting Lieut-Col Kobeli Mokheseng, the spokesman for the EMPD said, “On behalf of the department we extend our condolences to the family.
“With regard to the queries raised by the family, the light delivery vehicle involved was discontinued from the roadway and the driver was fined R500 for not being in possession of a driver’s licence.
“As metro police officers, when we arrive at an accident scene, we cordon off the affected portion to prevent a secondary crash and we attend to it from start to finish.
“In this case, there was no way we could have left the scene because, when a morgue van (pathologist) arrives, we do a hand over and there are official documents we have to fill in and submit to them (on the spot).
“If the mortuary van arrives and there is no accountable MPO, the body won’t be removed from the scene.
“At an accident scene, we fill in an accident book coupled with an accident report (AR) form.
“Since there was a declared fatality, we also opened a case of culpable homicide at the Primrose Police Station for detectives to investigate further.
“If police officers notice/pick-up an error in one or two of the documents submitted, they don’t give out a case number until the fault has been rectified.
“Service delivery is our number one priority.
“We are on duty 24-hours a day, seven days a week to serve the community at large and to protect innocent lives.
“On that fateful day, we received a call, we responded and we did everything by the book because we are a professional entity.”
The Primrose SAPS also responded to the concerns raised.
Sgt Styles Maome, communications officer for the Primrose police said, “This office confirms that the Primrose SAPS is investigating a case of culpable homicide.
“The scene was attended by EMPD officers and they registered the case at the police station for investigation.
“The police were not called to the scene.
“The investigating officer says she is communicating with the family and the matter is under investigation.”
