'Take licence away from driver who killed our son'

The man responsible for the death of a Milnerton teen killed in Hermanus shouldn't be allowed back on the road, the boy's parents said on Tuesday.

Steve and Susan Wootton, parents of 18-year-old Jake who was hit by a car on the first day of his seaside holiday in 2012, have appealed to the courts to revoke the driver's licence of construction project manager Schalk Lubbe who was found guilty on a charge of culpable homicide.

Lubbe, 28, appeared in the Strand Regional Court on Tuesday for sentencing proceedings.

Susan Wootton clutched her husband's leg as a family friend read a statement from the couple and their daughter, in which they appealed to the court to sentence Lubbe to prison.

Steve Wootton told News24 his son had been murdered and that Lubbe had used his vehicle as a weapon.

"It wasn’t an accident," he insisted.

"Oscar Pistorius got five years for shooting Reeva Steenkamp. Imprisonment is not a harsh sentence.

"What is the difference between a gun and a car [if it results in someone's death]?"

Susan Wootton, who has since had her son's name tattooed on her ankle, said their lives were forever changed on April 4 2012.

"It's unbearable knowing we will never be able to have our whole family together again. We lost a part of our world. We will never get over it."

Correctional Services official Jacqueline Engelbrecht told regional Magistrate Franceline Mouton that Lubbe had shown remorse, became emotional when speaking about the incident, and had difficulty sleeping.

Lubbe's mother, Loretta, told the court her son had changed drastically since the incident and that he no longer wanted to go out or "do anything".

But the Woottons dismissed this as lies.

"He is not a recluse. On his girlfriend's Facebook page it looks like they are still partying and going out," Steve Wootton insisted.

"And two years ago, one of Jake's friends saw him at Theewaterskloof Dam, having a good time on a scrambler."

The Lubbes declined to comment when approached outside court.

Lubbe's mother said on the stand that her son wanted to contact the Woottons, but comments made by the family in the media made him wary of the reception he would receive.

This, too, has been dismissed by the Woottons.

"He had so many years to issue an apology or show some kind of remorse in the three years before he was convicted. But he didn't. The whole family haven't shown us remorse. They only look at us in disgust."

Jake Wootton, who was the head boy at Milnerton High, deserved justice, his mother maintained.

"This is not about revenge. It's about the truth. That is what we wanted."

Lubbe was acquitted of drunk driving, as blood samples had not immediately been taken.

The State has called for house arrest and correctional supervision, while the defence has called for a suspended sentence.

He will be sentenced on Friday.

Source News 24