Cape Town - The father of Swedish volunteer Aksel Otterbeck, 19, who was knocked down and killed in Table View in 2016, said the accused shouldn’t be allowed to get away with a fine and should get jail time.
Jesper Otterbeck, 58, expressed his feelings shortly before the court proceedings commenced at the Cape Town Regional Court on Monday.
At the time of the incident, his son was working at non-profit organisation SAVE Volunteering. The incident happened on December 14, 2016, when Aksel and other international volunteers were walking when a car crashed into them.
The autopsy report showed that every bone in Aksel’s body was shattered. Six of his companions were injured.
The accused, Darryl Futter, who is out on bail, has pleaded not guilty to culpable homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless and or negligent driving and assault.
“Nothing will bring Aksel back, but justice should prevail. The accused shouldn’t be allowed to do this kind of thing and get away with a small fine. There should be some jail time. I’m not interested in an eye for an eye. Clearly the guy broke the law and killed somebody and then you should pay the price
“I’ve got mixed feelings about SA. It is such a beautiful country, then you got this crime level that is very high and a justice system that is overworked, they are almost overwhelmed. I’ve seen in it court with so many cases and they still had time to deal with the load,” the father said.
Monday’s proceedings didn’t last long, after the Belgian witness Maxim Gobbers testified, the matter was adjourned to allow the magistrate, the defence, prosecution, the witness and family members to attend an inspection in loco in Arum Road, where the accident happened.
Gobbers took the court back to the night when they walked as a group behind one another with him in the front down Arum Road.
He told the court that he noticed a green Volkswagen Polo speeding and driving erratically down the road and swerving.
“As the car approached us I could hear the high revs of the engine. The car hit the pavement and swerved back towards us. I could hear everyone yelling and shouting and I tried to jump out of the way,” he testified.
Gobbers, along with five others, was injured and Aksel died due to the severity of his injuries.
Monday at the scene, he was cross-questioned by the magistrate and prosecutor Ebrahim Adams while the accused accompanied by his attorney Keith Gess listened attentively. The inspection in loco was too much for the deceased’s aunt Eva who sobbed in the background.
The State will first conclude the testimonies of the foreign volunteers. The trial continues today.