The mother of 14-year-old Malcolm Booysen, who died on Saturday after being hit by a vehicle, allegedly driven by a 12-year-old child, told the Brakpan Herald this morning that she has forgiven the child allegedly responsible for the crash.

“My Malcolm was a child who believed in God and he would have wanted it this way,” Helen-Ann Pelser said.

“In the past, I probably would have held a grudge, but thanks to my husband, Quinton, who brought our whole family closer to the Lord and the church, I feel that forgiveness is the right thing to do,” she said.

Still, she said she never wants to relive the moment she heard that her child had passed away.

“It was the longest moment of my life when I had to drive from my sister’s flat to the place where the accident happened,” said an emotional Pelser.

According to her, she was at her sister Marissa Strauss’s flat in Prince George Avenue on Saturday when a chaplain arrived with the tragic news.

“We went to the scene with my sister and the chaplain, Henry Bruinette. I prayed all the way there, and I wish that experience on no one.”

The family does not live far from where the accident occurred, along Northdene Avenue.

According to Pelser, Malcolm and his two younger brothers, Jason (12) and Jacques (10), as well as older brother Austin (17), were very close to one another.

“Malcolm enjoyed collecting and trading Hot Wheels cars. He was a child who went to church and Sunday school, and if his younger brothers didn’t want to go, he would always encourage them to go along,” she said.

Pelser expressed gratitude to everyone who has reached out to her and her family during this time of sorrow.

“I was completely surprised and overwhelmed when I saw how many people showed up at Sunday’s vigil. There were people I didn’t even know who came to me and said they knew Malcolm and are praying for us. I believe my child is in Heaven because his heart was right.”

The family is still arranging the funeral.