Man jailed for culpable homicide death on N2

To watch the man who killed her husband taken to the cells from the dock is something a Knysna woman thought would never happen.

Leon van Rooyen, 49, was finally sentenced on Monday after being found guilty of culpable homicide in March.

He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, three of which were wholly suspended for five years, provided he is not convicted of the same offence involving a vehicle.

He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Van Rooyen had been in and out of court for a 2019 road rage accident that took the life of Alan Smit. 

Smit had stopped his vehicle along the N2 outside Knysna on March 23 2019 and approached a Corsa bakkie that had stopped in front of him.

The driver of the vehicle reversed and hit him before speeding off.

Smit sustained multiple injuries and died in hospital the next evening.

He left behind his wife, Ashleigh, and two children, Axyl and Alleigh.

Ashleigh had previously said the grief of losing her husband was something she dealt with on a daily basis.

But she was happy that Van Rooyen had got prison time. 

“They took him straight away, which was awesome for us to watch ... after having attended court all these years he had done something different this time and he walked in the opposite direction as a guilty man. 

“To me, that symbolised justice though no [amount of] jail time will make us entirely happy.

“We know how fine the line is between prison and house arrest,” Ashleigh said.

“I just wanted him to be arrested and pay for what he has done.”  

Smit’s sister, Jamie-Lee Bulterman, had launched a Facebook page after the incident in a bid to nab the man who had killed her brother.

“We are so pleased but we hope and pray he is not paroled after six months,” Bulterman said. 

She said the family would fight to see Van Rooyen serve his full sentence.

Bulterman,  a teacher, said her brother’s death had evoked a passion for getting justice for others. 

“Now that we have got a sentence, I would just like to use the platform to help others where possible.” 

She said the  campaign #J4J (Justice For Josh) was her next focus. 

Joshua Edwards, 16, was shot dead in Midrand in January 2021 while visiting a boy from his school.

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