KEY POINTS
- Pedal Power Association condemns lenient sentence for hit-and-run.
- Garth Pasha fined R13,000 for injuring cyclist Dewald van der Westhuizen.
- PPA urges stronger action to protect cyclists and other road users.
The R13,000 fine levied on a South African Navy official who caused a hit-and-run accident that wounded a cyclist has angered the Pedal Power Association (PPA), which has deemed the penalty insufficient.
Pedal Power Association reacts to lenient sentence in hit-and-run case.
After hitting Dewald van der Westhuizen while he was cycling with his coach, Mike Moriarty, in preparation for a triathlon, 28-year-old Garth Pasha was taken into custody on December 21, 2023. CCTV footage captured the two cyclists just before a white VW Polo struck them and then drove away from the scene of the incident, which happened on Glencairn’s Main Road. Van der Westhuizen needed numerous leg surgeries and hospitalization due to his severe injuries.
Pasha admitted to careless driving and failing to stop following the collision and was freed on R5,000 bail. Van der Westhuizen described the protracted and agonizing process of recuperation in his testimony.
Pasha was fined R20,000 by the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court, which equates to 12 months in jail with R10,000 suspended as long as he doesn’t repeat the same crime again within the following five years. For a second offense, Pasha was additionally fined R3,000, which equates to three months in jail. His gun and driver’s licenses were returned to him.
PPA calls for better protection for vulnerable cyclists on roads.
Neil Robinson, the CEO of PPA, denounced the punishment as “contemptible.”
In South Africa, the penalty frequently does not correspond to the offense. “This is an excellent illustration,” Robinson remarked. “We believe the sentence is severely deficient in harshness, regardless of the mitigation or aggravation. It gives prospective offenders the false impression that breaking the law will not have serious repercussions.
Law-abiding cyclists who obey traffic laws shouldn’t have to deal with the dangers they do on South African roads, Robinson continued.
According to Iol, he claimed that the penalty was absurd because of the Western Cape’s one-meter pass legislation and substantial proof of guilt.
In order to address the risks that vulnerable road users confront, the PPA has urged the South African Police Service (SAPS), traffic authorities, and prosecuting organizations to take road safety more seriously.
