UPDATE: Family pain lingers as man guilty of ‘death mile’ culpable homicide
“The fact that he got a suspended sentence, no jail time, no fine or his licence suspended or revoked, basically means there is no punishment and that makes it heartbreaking because, in the end it means justice was not meted out as it should have.”
After three years and more than nine postponements, there has finally been an outcome in the case of a Centurion family who lost a loved one in a road accident.
On Wednesday, 51-year-old Jan Elsenaar was found guilty of culpable homicide in the Hatfield Community Court.
Elsenaar was handed a five-year suspended sentence for making an illegal U-turn at the so-called “death mile” near the Brooklyn circle in July 2016.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Plea date set for Brooklyn ‘death mile’ case
Elsenaar made the U-turn in his SUV when Grant Barker of Centurion, riding a motorcycle, crashed into him and died.
Speaking on behalf of the Barker family, Anthea Mara said they were grateful the guilty plea was accepted.
“He pleaded guilty to culpable homicide which equates to taking someone’s life albeit negligently. He took my brother’s life and he admitted to that and we are very happy about that verdict,” said Mara.
“The fact that he got a suspended sentence, no jail time, no fine or his licence suspended or revoked, basically means there is no punishment and that makes it heartbreaking because, in the end it means justice was not meted out as it should have.”
Despite this, Mara said the family was happy they fought until the end to ensure that justice was served “even if it is not the outcome we wanted”.
“We spoke out in support of bikers’ lives and even if it wasn’t taken in account we did our best, we did not fail my brother and justice was served in its own way we hoped for a different outcome but that’s how our legal system works.”
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Eighth postponement in Brooklyn ‘death mile’ case
Mara said the material cost that Elsenaar caused the family paled in comparison to the emotional grief and pain they felt.
“The untimely death of a son, a brother, a father, a husband and an uncle left a void in the Barker family.
“By pleading guilty to this crime was he then not guilty from the day that he caused my brother’s death?
“The minimum that Jan Elsenaar could have offered was his sympathy, condolences or even, in the very least, try to say ‘sorry’.
“To date, he has not said a word of expressing any sympathy… not a word.”
Mara said they had hoped that, in determining what an appropriate sentence would be, the court would consider the nature and seriousness of the offence as well as the interests of the community.
“My sister-in-law lost a life partner… and my niece a father and was forced to grow up in an instant. She was on the brink of starting her high school career, a career that she is now facing without her father,” Mara said.
“What does it say about Jan Elsenaar, that he felt absolutely nothing, no remorse… My niece, who now has to grow up with only the memories of her father. That day changed all our lives irrevocably. Our lives changed in the worst possible way,” she said.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Justice delayed for Brooklyn ‘death mile’ biker
“We all lost a piece of our heart that night.
“No amount of jail time will bring my brother back. Let this be Jan Elsenaar’s albatross that he will carry for all his days.”
Jay Blackhawk from the #BikerLivesMatter said they were grateful for the guilty verdict and happy with the work done by the NPA to bring this case to court and get the verdict.
“However, we are disappointed by the sentence of a five-year suspended sentence.
“Yes, it is a culpable homicide case, however, given the fact that the driver made an illegal U-turn that resulted in the loss of life, we feel that the sentence must have been stiffer.
“We expected a message to be sent out by the good court of Hatfield to all ‘would-be’ offenders so that such acts of negligent and reckless driving come to end.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: East family still waiting for ‘Death Mile’ closure
“We see this happening daily and so many lives are being lost and this will not stop until an example is set by the courts.
He said family men and women were being lost daily on the roads “and surely it must come to an end”.
“Bikers Lives Matter advocates for safer roads, stiffer penalties for road traffic act offenders, to ensure we cut down on fatalities and injured bikers on South African roads.”
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