A grief-stricken Grassy Park couple are mourning the death of their 13-year-old daughter who was tragically killed when she was struck by a car along AZ Berman Drive in Mitchells Plain on Monday.
Mikayla Scholtz was visiting her grandmother’s home in Mitchells Plain for the holidays when the accident occurred.
The teens’ distraught parents, Berlita and Shaun, said: “My wife and I were chilling at home when we got the call to say something happened to Mikayla, and we must get to Mitchells Plain immediately.
“At that point we didn’t really know what had happened and we couldn’t make out what the friend was trying to say, so we just left to the scene,” Shaun said.
The couple said that, when they arrived at the scene on AZ Berman Drive, their daughter’s body was lying in the middle of the road, covered with a white sheet, while scores of onlookers lined the pavement.
“Tears just started running down our faces,” a heartbroken Berlita said of the moment they walked over to the scene and knelt beside their little girl’s body.
“It’s still hard to imagine that she’s no longer here. My heart bleeds for my precious princess. I cannot believe this happened. I cannot believe that this is how we are starting our new year. It’s just horrible.”
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said a culpable homicide case had been opened.
“Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 13-year-old female following an accident on AZ Berman Drive, Eastridge, on Monday afternoon. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by paramedics. No one has been arrested,” he said.
Mikayla’s father had the daunting task of identifying his daughter’s body at the mortuary on Tuesday, a task he describes as “the worst experience of his life”.
“No one will ever understand how horrible it is to go view your child’s body at a mortuary and see her laying there on the table in the same clothes we bought for her.
An emotional Shaun said:I don’t think I’ll ever recover from that. I cried so much that I even got a headache, because I cannot believe my little girl is no more alive.
Berlita said she was heartened by the support of the community who had been there for the family since their ordeal began.
Meanwhile, residents claim they have previously lobbied the City of Cape Town to install a robot or even speed humps in the area to prevent drivers from racing down the road.
“This AZ Berman road is very dangerous and we need drastic changes to take place here so that motorists stop speeding,” said resident Warda Cay.
The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate said it would investigate the location and circumstances of the crash to determine whether there were any engineering measures that could help prevent similar accidents.
“AZ Berman is a higher order arterial route and, as such, physical traffic calming measures such as speed humps and raised pedestrian crossings are not appropriate forms of speed control. Enforcement of the speed limit is the appropriate measure on arterial routes,” spokesperson Rob Quintas said.
For the Grassy Park parents, their agony is multiplying as preparations for their daughter’s funeral get underway.
It is expected to take place next week in Grassy Park.
“No parent should ever have to go through this. I wish I can tell the man that did this to my child, that he destroyed our family. He has no idea what we feeling. I pray and hope that justice will rain down on him,” Berlita said.
Mikayla leaves behind her parents and two brothers.
News24
