Christmas a sad reminder for family

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The family of late Alan Smit continues to deal with the loss of a brother, husband, father, and son nearly nine months after he was killed in an alleged hit-and-run incident, saying there are "still constant reminders" that he is no longer around.

Smit was on his way back from a visit to Sedgefield on Saturday 23 March when he was hit by a car near the White Bridge on the N2.

At the time of the accident, police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies described the incident as follows: "The victim stopped the vehicle he was travelling in and approached a white or silver Corsa bakkie that stopped in front of him. This vehicle reversed and hit the victim before it sped off."

In the months following the incident, Smit's family were desperately seeking closure as to who could have killed Alan, and in July a suspect was eventually linked to the case and arrested. The 47-year-old Leon van Rooyen first appeared in the Knysna Magistrate's Court on 15 August, and the case has since been postponed on a few occasions, with the most recent court appearance on 20 November.

Van Rooyen has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, and his trial is set to begin in the Knysna Magistrate's Court on 9 March next year. Smit's sister Jamie Smit says there will be a lot of support in Knysna when time comes for the trial to begin. "A bunch of friends and family are planning to go down to Knysna to support Ashleigh (Alan's widow) in March," Jamie said, adding that her sister-in-law has been finding it hard to deal with everything in the past nine months.

"I don't know if she's even had a chance to fully process everything yet," Jamie said on behalf of Ashleigh. "She's had to play the role of mom and dad, she's had to try keep it together." Ashleigh and Alan had two children together – Alleigh (4) and Axyl (1) – and had moved to Plettenberg Bay from Johannesburg in March last year in hopes of "giving their children a better life".

According to Jamie, Ashleigh is still trying to make that work in memory of Alan. "She is determined to do it, she is determined to make it work for Alan and the children."

It has also been an incredibly trying year for the family in the sense that they haven't had a chance to try and forget, with there "constantly being a reminder", Jamie said. "It's been birthday after birthday, it's been Mother's Day, it's been Father's Day, and now Christmas. There has just always been something reminding us that he's gone."

You can follow the family's campaign to get justice for their lost loved one via their Facebook page 'Justice for Alan'.

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