Driver in deadly crash finally to be prosecuted in Regional Court

More than 14 months after deciding to prosecute Gareth Webster on a charge of culpable homicide, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has finally decided that the case should be heard in Regional Court, though a court date has yet to be scheduled. The decision comes after more than a year of pressure from AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, which last week revealed the NPA’s embarrassing failure to make the simple decision of whether to hear the case in District or Regional Court.

The NPA had made the decision to prosecute Webster in August 2024, but it has taken until now for the Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to decide which court should hear the case. “The delay is regretted,” was the curt response from the DPP’s office. Webster is charged with culpable homicide for allegedly causing the crash that killed wife and mother Danielle van Jaarsveld on 6 November 2022, when he was driving an Audi SQ5 performance SUV and collided head-on with Van Jaarsveld’s Kia sedan. The unit represents Van Jaarsveld’s sister, Desire Keating.

The crash took place on Swartvlei Beach Road, a few hundred metres from the Sedge Links Golf Course in Sedgefield, where Webster was attending a golf day. Surveillance footage shows how the force of the impact launched the Kia backwards in the direction it was coming from, before rolling several times onto the side of the road. The SQ5 belonged to Webster’s employer, Audi Centre George. Webster and his passenger, who was also a golf day attendee, escaped without serious injuries. Van Jaarsveld died on the way to the hospital while her passenger Monique van Zyl, her sister-in-law, suffered serious injuries. The pair were on their way to the beach.

Keating says her family hopes to finally have justice. “This period of waiting has been an extremely difficult and emotional time for our family. And while the announcement does not ease our grief, it mars an importance step towards justice and closure. Our family remains committed to allowing the truth to be fully presented in court,” she says.

Barry Bateman, spokesperson for the unit, says the DPP’s decision came as Shamila Batohi, National Director of Public Prosecution, lamented the public’s lack of trust in the NPA. “The failure to take a decision that would ensure the swift administration of justice is precisely why the public has lost trust in the criminal justice system. For more than a year, inexplicably this docket has been in the office of the DPP waiting for what is an uncomplicated decision, while the victim’s families pleaded for the case to proceed. AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit will continue to support Desire and her family to ensure justice is served,” concludes Bateman.