Paul Livesey says the motorist who knocked down his son spared the family more pain by pleading guilty.
|||Durban - The father of Durban North Christian youth leader Michael Livesey, who died when he was struck by a car while skateboarding, almost two years ago, says he is ready to forgive the motorist responsible.
“I am sure he is dealing with issues of his own. Yes, I would talk to him. I am in a position where forgiveness is entirely possible,” Paul Livesey said. This was after his neighbour, sales executive Jevan de Vlieg, 41, pleaded guilty to culpable homicide in a plea bargain agreement finalised in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Michael was just metres from his home on the July evening he died.
De Vlieg was given a three-year (or R50 000) suspended sentence, on condition that he not be convicted again of the same offence and that he pay compensation to the Livesey family of R100 000 within a month.
He also has to do 150 hours of community service - probably at Addington Hospital’s casualty section - and report to a correctional supervision officer, and undertake whatever programmes are required of him.
De Vlieg, a father of two young children, looked tearful as he stood in the dock before magistrate L Leshababa.
De Vlieg’s family and friends were behind him on one side of the public gallery, while Livesey, his wife, Cathy, and their friends sat on the other, many of them sobbing quietly throughout the brief hearing.
In a statement handed to the court by his attorney Sunil Singh - which was not read out “to spare the family further pain and harm” - he admitted that on July 30, 2011, he was driving in Chelsea Drive when he overtook another vehicle and struck Livesey.
He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of “removing his vehicle from the position it came to rest”.
Aggravating factors taken into account in the agreed sentence were Livesey’s age, 20, and the “immeasurable pain and suffering” and financial difficulties caused his family.
Mitigating factors taken into account were that De Vlieg had no previous convictions, he had pleaded guilty, had shown great remorse and was a breadwinner and a productive member of society.
De Vlieg left the court building quickly after the hearing, while the Liveseys and other relatives broke down in tears.
In his interview with The Mercury, Paul Livesey said the family were grateful that De Vlieg had pleaded guilty “and spared us a long, drawn-out trial”.
“He did the right thing. His sentence is appropriate and we fully accept it. And his sentence will be a challenge for him.
“We agreed to it (the plea bargain) because it is important that we move forward in our lives. The prospect of a trial would have prevented us from doing this. So this is a sense of relief,” he said.
Not everyone was as forgiving.
“He has got away with murder,” said a woman, who only identified herself as a friend of the family.
“We did not want him to go to jail. But he should say sorry.” - The Mercury