Parents from Grassy Park in Cape Town have started the new year mourning the death of their 13-year-old daughter, Mikayla Scholtz, who was tragically killed when she was hit by a car on AZ Berman Drive in Mitchells Plain on Monday, 2 January 2023 while visiting her grandmother.
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As reported by NEWS24 – Mikayla’s parents, Belita and Shaun received the call no parent should ever receive, “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 arrived at the scene to find Mikayla’s body lying in the road covered with a white sheet.
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said, “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. A culpable homicide case had been opened.”
Residents of the area have claimed that they have previously and on numerous occasions requested that the City of Cape Town install a robot or speed humps in the area to slow drivers driving recklessly.
As stated in News24 – The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate said it would investigate the location and circumstances of the incident in ascertaining whether any engineering measures could be implemented to prevent future incidents from happening.
Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas said, “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.”
Our sincerest condolences to the family of Mikayla Scholtz.
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Picture: Belita Scholtz / Facebook