Hundreds of mourners gathered at the home of a popular basketball coach and confirmation teacher from Heideveld on Sunday, after he was tragically killed in a hit and run accident on Friday.
The hartseer family of Calvin Jean, 56, were left reeling in shock after he was declared dead at the accident scene on the corner of Ascension and Duinefontein roads shortly after 3pm.
According to residents, the driver of a black Jeep SUV was allegedly drunk when he jumped a red robot and ploughed into the father of three, who was driving a white Ford bakkie.
The Jeep driver then allegedly abandoned his car and fled the scene on foot.
SCENE: Jeep ploughed into Calvin’s bakkie
Calvin’s wife Karen, 50, says he had been on his way home and she was alerted to his death after his brother passed the scene and recognised his bakkie.
“I was so devastated, he was a stone’s throw away from home. We would have been married 17 years and I met him at the printing place he worked,” the widow sobbed.
On Sunday hundreds of parishioners from St Theresa’s Catholic Church hosted a drive-by memorial at Calvin’s home.
Hundreds of vehicles lined Groenberg Road where people dropped flowers.
Hundreds of vehicles lined Groenberg Road where people dropped flowers. Pictures: Monique Duval
Youngsters from the Heideveld Basketball Club arrived in their tracksuits and erected a cross at the accident scene.
Coach and co-founder of the club, Elman Stemmet, says Calvin was the first chairman of the club in 2006 which was known as Cathkin Rookies.
“He initially started a soccer club in Goudini and we approached him because we knew how passionate he was about youth development through sport,” says Stemmet.
“He knew little about basketball, but was so dedicated that he ended up coaching several Western Province teams.
“He used money out of his own pockets to buy shoes for the juniors and even paid college fees for some of our seniors.”
DEDICATE: Basketball kids in their tracksuits
Karen says after being retrenched in 2013, her husband spent his days making honey which he sold, and growing chilli trees.
“His most recent project was making his own sanitiser. He set up everything and wanted to make his own sanitiser for the community. He was a very busy man who would do anything he could for his community,” Karen says.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirms the accident and says Manenberg police are now investigating a case of culpable homicide.