A year after Princeton University student and 21-year-old Kerry Grundlingh died in a cycling collision in Muldersdrift, her parents hope to honour her memory by raising awareness for road safety.

Before her death, Grundlingh was an economics major at Princeton University in the USA. She was also an accomplished athlete on the women’s open rowing team at Princeton and rowed for South Africa in international competitions.

According to her parents, Francois and Debbie, the family is still trying to fill a void in their lives a year later. Francois described the day of her death as shocking, recalling his last moments with her.

• Also read: Cyclist killed in tragic crash in Muldersdrift

Francois recalled that she was always meticulous, noting that on the day of the incident she was preparing for a Half Ironman competition taking place in the Czech Republic. He said she mentioned she would do an extra lap in the area and return in about eight minutes, but when time passed, he realised something was wrong.

Justice reform push following fatal collision

Francois found out his daughter was hit by a car near a lodge. Since the incident, the family has been working with the Pedal Power Association (PPA), a public benefit organisation committed to promoting cycling and the interests of cyclists.

Recently, the organisation has been renewing its call for urgent reform across South Africa’s justice system as three cyclist crash cases head into critical legal phases.

Debbie confirmed that the organisation has been working alongside the family to bring Grundlingh’s case to court and issue urgent calls for cyclist safety, noting that a case of culpable homicide has been opened.

The Krugersdorp News contacted both the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the SAPS to establish whether the driver involved in the incident would face a charge of culpable homicide.

The News asked, among other questions, whether police had formally completed and submitted the investigation docket to the NPA for a decision. It also asked whether the driver had been formally charged with culpable homicide or any other offence, and whether any suspect or driver had been taken into custody in connection with the incident.

The initial enquiry was sent to Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Dimakatso Sello, who advised that the questions be directed to the NPA. The News subsequently emailed NPA national spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago at 10:00 on August 28, with a response deadline of 10:00 on August 31. No response was received.

A second enquiry was sent to Kganyago on September 3. By 13:00 on Monday, September 7, the time of publication, no response had been received.

On September 7, the News made two follow-up phone calls to Kganyago and sent an email to NPA head of communications Bulelwa Makeke, as well as to the NPA’s media enquiries email address. No response was received.

A final follow-up email and phone call were made to the NPA at 08:36 on September 7. At the time of publication, the News had still received no response.