Cyclist down in worcester

[DieselnDust]

Sounds like Francois killer has been arrested in Villiersdorp late on Saturday. A common tactic to sober up before handing themselves in or being caught 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Another senseless fatality of a Husband, Father and Friend and an individual who added value to the life of others through his selfless contributions to his community 😢

RIP Francois, may your death continue to contribute to the rest of the cycling community by being a catalyst for change in the road laws in this country 😩

[Shebeen]

5 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Sounds like Francois killer has been arrested in Villiersdorp late on Saturday. A common tactic to sober up before handing themselves in or being caught 

Wonder if there is a way to check "half life" of blood alcohol, as they would in drug testing. Then one could trace back to time of accident.

 

The way the system (doesn't) works, you are almost encouraged to hit and run rather than stay at the accident scene- and the consequences you deal with later are reduced, if not entirely escape scot free.

 

[DieselnDust]

9 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Wonder if there is a way to check "half life" of blood alcohol, as they would in drug testing. Then one could trace back to time of accident.

 

The way the system (doesn't) works, you are almost encouraged to hit and run rather than stay at the accident scene- and the consequences you deal with later are reduced, if not entirely escape scot free.

 

Leaving the scene should be upgraded to first degree murder. Then you’re in for 25 years to life

[Mook]

14 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Wonder if there is a way to check "half life" of blood alcohol, as they would in drug testing. Then one could trace back to time of accident.

 

The way the system (doesn't) works, you are almost encouraged to hit and run rather than stay at the accident scene- and the consequences you deal with later are reduced, if not entirely escape scot free.

 

The law states that you must stop at the accident scene, or report as soon as practically possible - not the next day or 200km from where the incident took place.

The most probable reasons why drivers wont stop in daylight are driving under the influence and/or neglegent driving.

Why would you not stop if the incident was not your fault? ..... unnless you are driving without licence, stolen vehicle, etc.

Apparently the driver in the one incident attempted to conceal evidence by taking his car to the car wash shortly after the incident.

The laws are in place. The problem is the application of these laws by those supposedly equipped to make them work for the innocent. 

[Shebeen]

3 hours ago, Mook said:

The law states that you must stop at the accident scene, or report as soon as practically possible - not the next day or 200km from where the incident took place.

The most probable reasons why drivers wont stop in daylight are driving under the influence and/or neglegent driving.

Why would you not stop if the incident was not your fault? ..... unnless you are driving without licence, stolen vehicle, etc.

Apparently the driver in the one incident attempted to conceal evidence by taking his car to the car wash shortly after the incident.

The laws are in place. The problem is the application of these laws by those supposedly equipped to make them work for the innocent. 

AFAIK there was no blood taken in the simonstown incident - so there is no way to dispute the defence's story.

accident victim as reported in the media after the incident:

https://falsebayecho.co.za/news/2024-01-11-long-road-to-recovery-for-hit-and-run-cyclist/

Quote

Mr Moriarty said that he and Mr Van der Westhuizen had left Harbour Bay Mall at 5am. They were usually part of a group of five cyclists that rode to Smitswinkel Bay every Tuesday and Thursday but due to the fire, the road had been closed and some of the other cyclists had been unable to make it.

The two men took the route along Glencairn Main Road in the direction of Dixies Restaurant.

Mr Moriarty said it had been a quiet morning and he had heard the car coming and then the impact as it had hit Mr Van der Westhuizen, who had been flung into him.

Mr Moriarty said he had escaped with a few cuts and bruises, but Mr Van der Westhuizen had been lying unconscious on the ground with “extensive” damage to his leg.

He said the driver had stopped about 100 metres down the road, gotten out of his car and looked at them.

“I was screaming at him to come back and help us, but he got back into the car and drove off,” he said. “It is beyond me how he could just drive away from the scene. There should be just punishment for him.”

A nearby resident called the police and an ambulance.

Mr Moriarty said he had moved Mr Van der Westhuizen onto the pavement, and a private security guard had stopped to help them and keep cars at bay.

as reported by https://www.facebook.com/cyclistsstayalive

 

Navy employee, Garth Pasha appeared in court and pleaded guilty to two charges. He was originally charged with attempted murder but on Friday the charges were reduced to reckless driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. The was no explanation from the state why the charge was changed.

Pasha pleaded guilty to reduced charges of reckless driving and failing to stop and the scene of a crash.

at the court sentencing, lawyer read this affidavit

Quote

Pasha's lawyer read an avidavit on behalf of the accused. According to his avidavit he was fighting fires the entire day prior to the crash and he decided to stay in Simon's Town that night after having a few drinks with friends. He decided to drive back at 4h30 the next morning to his girlfriend who needed the car for the day. According to him it was still dark and he did not have a clear view of the road. He felt he bumped something and stopped to inspect the vehicle and could not see what he hit and in shock he drove on to Fish Hoek where he fell asleep and was woken up by SAPS and arrested. His lawyer suggested correctional supervision for sentencing as he has no previous convictions. Pasha pleaded guilty to reckless driving and not stopping at the scene of a crash.

 

[cadenceblur]

1 hour ago, Shebeen said:

AFAIK there was no blood taken in the simonstown incident - so there is no way to dispute the defence's story.

accident victim as reported in the media after the incident:

https://falsebayecho.co.za/news/2024-01-11-long-road-to-recovery-for-hit-and-run-cyclist/

as reported by https://www.facebook.com/cyclistsstayalive

 

Navy employee, Garth Pasha appeared in court and pleaded guilty to two charges. He was originally charged with attempted murder but on Friday the charges were reduced to reckless driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. The was no explanation from the state why the charge was changed.

Pasha pleaded guilty to reduced charges of reckless driving and failing to stop and the scene of a crash.

at the court sentencing, lawyer read this affidavit

 

And life goes on for the POS excuse of a human being . 

[Dogs]

9 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Leaving the scene should be upgraded to first degree murder. Then you’re in for 25 years to life

Agreed - my pov is that there should be a mandatory sentence of 5 years before anything else for failure to stop and remain at accident.  Make it even more if someone was killed.

As a point of interest, can the steps of the "hit and runner" be retraced through bank transactions, cctv, cellphone movements, etc. to establish whether he was at pubs, clubs, etc.  One way or the other, all of these F$^*& get away with murder.

[Shebeen]

this came up on my feed.

 

https://worcesterstandard.co.za/huldeblyke-stroom-in-vir-worcester-sakeman-na-motor-hom-op-fiets-tref

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Shebeen said:

this came up on my feed.

 

https://worcesterstandard.co.za/huldeblyke-stroom-in-vir-worcester-sakeman-na-motor-hom-op-fiets-tref

 

NOTE .... worth taking note of the lack of identification on Francois at the time of the accident.

 

In the event that he survived and needed to go to a hospital, this would have meant waiting for a government ambulance ....

 

PLEASE use ICE-ID type tags, stickers, anything that can speak for you when you cant ....

 

 

 

EDIT - "ICE ID" partners with CycleLab / CWC for delivery of their products -

https://iceid.co.za/knowledge-centre/postage-and-shipping-options/

 

I use their "dog tag" ID when I do longer solo trail run training.  I have one of their tags on each of my helmet-straps.

 

When I had my nasty crash at a race in Ashton I passed out for a few seconds when the paramedic was checking me .... when I got to I just pointed at the tag and said: "Everything you need ...."

 

Edited December 19, 2025 by ChrisF

[nonky]

Francois helped me out with an emergency at a stage race, when i had not purchased a service package and he did not know me.  His service team was fully booked, but he still made a plan to assist me, which meant that I could finish the race.  

May he Rest In Peace.   Condolences to friends and family.

[Eugene Oppelt]

Francois sounds like he was an angel, surely imperfect like anyone here, however he sounds like a beautiful soul based on the evidence presented here.

[LegsEleven]

I used his race service package and W2W last year and Epic this year, he was such a lovely guy and was always willing to go the extra mile. A terrible loss