Pretoria - A R50 000 reward is being offered for information leading to the apprehension of the motorist involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed teenager Ruan Viljoen in March.
His mother, Anita Greyvenstein, said: “We are offering a reward because maybe if there’s money involved somebody may come out.”
Viljoen was killed on 19 March, two weeks before his 19th birthday, along the N14 near the Jean Avenue off-ramp in Centurion. The accident is believed to have happened between 4am and 6am as Viljoen headed home after attending a party with friends.
According to the autopsy report, Viljoen must have died on impact as both his back and neck were broken. His mother said the left side of his body was also crushed from the impact.
In a previous interview with Pretoria News, Greyvenstein said she did not want the motorist who killed her son to go to jail, but to explain what exactly happened to her son.
“I cannot decide for the police what to do," she said. “This is a murder case now. I personally don’t want anything to happen to him; I just want him to look me in the eye and tell me that it was him and that he’s sorry.
“I don’t have even a little bit of hatred in me for this guy, but I need closure. This tragedy is haunting us.”
Viljoen was driving a rented car on the night of the accident as his car had been taken in for repairs.
Hit by speeding car
Greyvenstein said according to the little evidence found on the scene, it seemed Viljoen had a minor accident along the highway and was unable to drive the car when it got stuck in a ditch.
She said her son tried to call her husband at 3:45am but his battery died before the call got through. He then walked away from the car to search for help on foot. It is presumed he was hit by a car which is said to have been speeding at 200km/h.
The next morning, just before 9am, she received a call from Avis saying the police had called them about their rental company car being found in the veld. She immediately called her husband and began calling Viljoen’s friends to see if he was with them.
Her husband was on the scene to get the rented car when he saw police surrounding a man’s body, which lay face down about 400 metres from the car. He asked to see who the man was. It was then that it was confirmed Viljoen had been killed.
Silver Golf 6
“Forensics are still doing testing and investigating, but it looks like the car that hit him was a silver Golf 6.”
This was based on evidence found on the scene, Greyvenstein said, adding that they were still waiting for more answers from the forensic investigators that could provide clues to the killer, but she was also doing all she could to find her son’s killer.
Greyvenstein and her family are seeing a psychologist to get through the traumatic event.
She said the reward would only be given out to someone with compelling evidence that would lead to the driver’s prosecution.
People with any information can contact her at 083 702 6369.