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A Mother’s Grace: Brakpan Mom Forgives 12-Year-Old Driver After Son’s Tragic Death

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3 months ago

June 9, 2025

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When tragedy strikes, we often expect anger, blame, and heartbreak. But in Brakpan this week, one grieving mother chose a different path: forgiveness.

Fourteen-year-old Malcolm Booysen was killed on Saturday after being struck by a vehicle allegedly driven by a 12-year-old child. For most parents, such a loss would be unthinkable and unforgivable. But Helen-Ann Pelser, Malcolm’s mother, says she has made peace with what happened, even forgiving the young driver responsible.

“My Malcolm would have wanted it this way”

Speaking to the Brakpan Herald just days after the accident, Helen-Ann reflected on the heartbreaking loss of her son and the strength she found in her faith and family.

“I never want to relive that moment,” she said, describing the surreal drive from her sister’s flat on Prince George Avenue to the scene of the accident on Northdene Avenue. “It was the longest moment of my life.”

She had been visiting her sister, Marissa Strauss, when a chaplain, Henry Bruinette, delivered the devastating news. What followed was a journey no mother should endure—one filled with prayer, disbelief, and unbearable grief.

Yet through her pain, Helen-Ann found clarity.

“Malcolm was a child who believed in God. He would have wanted me to forgive,” she shared, tears in her voice but conviction in her words. “Thanks to my husband, Quinton, who brought our family closer to the church, I feel that forgiveness is the right thing to do.”

A Brother, a Friend, a Believer

Malcolm wasn’t just any teenager. He was the glue that held his siblings together, always looking out for his brothers: Austin (17), Jason (12), and Jacques (10).

He had a passion for Hot Wheels cars, loved Sunday school, and encouraged his younger brothers to attend even when they didn’t feel like it. “He always led by example,” Helen-Ann said. “His heart was right. That’s why I believe he’s in Heaven.”

Shock and Solidarity in Brakpan

As the news of the accident spread, the community came together in an emotional outpouring of support. A vigil held on Sunday evening drew dozens many of whom had never met Helen-Ann but knew Malcolm or simply felt moved by the tragedy.

“I was overwhelmed,” she said. “People I didn’t even know came up to me and said they were praying for us. That they remembered Malcolm. That they cared.”

In a town often defined by headlines of hardship, this moment of unity brought a rare and healing light. Brakpan residents lit candles, hugged one another, and stood quietly in honor of a boy who had touched more lives than his family had ever realized.

An Uncomfortable Truth: Children Behind the Wheel

While the family prepares for Malcolm’s funeral, questions still linger around how a 12-year-old came to be driving a car. It’s an issue that raises urgent concerns—not just for parents, but for the broader public.

Unlicensed underage drivers have become a troubling reality in some parts of South Africa, especially in informal or low-income areas where road safety laws are poorly enforced. In Malcolm’s case, it turned fatal.

Police investigations are ongoing, but for Helen-Ann, justice will not be found in punishment, but in healing, in accountability, and in compassion.

“I Don’t Want Revenge. I Want Peace.”

In a moment that could have easily been defined by bitterness, Helen-Ann Pelser has chosen peace over punishment.

“I probably would have held a grudge in the past,” she admitted. “But I’ve changed. My faith has changed me. I don’t want to live with hate.”

As her family faces the unimaginable, Helen-Ann’s strength has become a source of comfort not only to those who knew Malcolm—but to an entire community grappling with loss, love, and what it means to truly forgive.

Malcolm Booysen’s funeral is still being arranged. And while the pain will linger, so too will the memory of a boy whose gentle heart inspired his mother to do the unimaginable: forgive.