Aden Lewis was killed in a crash involving an alleged drunk driver on Main Road in Walmer in August 2024. (Photo: Jeanine Boshoff) Two years after 12-year-old Aden Lewis was killed in a head-on collision in Walmer, Gqeberha, traffic-calming measures have been installed at the crash site — the result of a relentless campaign by his mother, Jeanine Boshoff.
Aden died on 18 August 2024 shortly after 1am when the Volkswagen Caddy his mother was driving was struck by a Kia Rio on Main Road between 10th and 11th avenues.
Boshoff was critically injured in the crash and spent weeks in hospital, including time in a coma. She was left with a traumatic brain injury, chronic pain and memory loss.
Now living in Gauteng to be closer to medical specialists, Boshoff said she hoped the new measures would prevent another family from having to endure the same heartbreak.
The safety measures fulfil a promise she made after Aden’s death: that something positive would come from the tragedy.
“I know I’m not going to get Aden back,” she said. “But if it can mean that someone is going to have another dream or moment with their family, then I’m not going to stop.”
/file/attachments/orphans/Photo3_948189.jpg "The section of Main Road in Walmer where Aden Lewis and his mother, Jeanine Boshoff, were involved in a crash. Traffic-calming measures had been installed by 11 August 2026. (Photo: Kyran Blaauw)")
Boshoff said her campaign to make the road safer had been long and frustrating, with periods when she struggled to get communication from Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
“There were a lot of times where I didn’t get communication from the city. I took it to the media, because just doing it as one person was very difficult,” she said.
She described the campaign as “fighting against the giant”, but said she was determined to continue.
“I know Aden would have done it in a heartbeat,” she said, fighting back tears.
Living with the aftermath
Boshoff said she could still remember parts of the night of the crash, although much of what happened remained lost to her because of her brain injury.
“I’m still stuck in 2024. I’m still trying to remember everything,” she said. “People have to remind me that I’ve already asked about stuff.”
Boshoff said she had been told her traumatic brain injury would continue to affect her memory. She now has to make notes about her daily life, including whether she has taken her medication.
“I feel like a child. I can’t read like I used to. I can’t speak like I used to,” she said.
She can no longer drive because getting behind the wheel can trigger a panic response. “People tell me it’s 2026 this year. I know they say it, but it doesn’t feel like that,” said Boshoff.
One of the memories she does have from that night is of Aden speaking about her late husband, his stepfather Bossau Boshoff, who was killed in a September 2022 head-on collision with a taxi.
Boshoff and Aden had been at the scene of that crash. The pair later moved to Gqeberha to be closer to family.
A Sunday ritual turns into a tragedy
On the night Aden died, he asked his mother if they could go and buy a Steri Stumpie (a sweetened, flavoured, low-fat milk drink).
“Aden spoke to me about my late husband,” said Boshoff. “He said to me, ‘Mommy, I’ve got R37. I want to go buy us a Steri Stumpie.’ It was a ritual for us on Sundays.
“I said to him I will take him. And I took him. And that’s all I can remember. For a Steri Stumpie,” said Boshoff.
/file/attachments/orphans/Photo2_614886.jpeg "Aden Lewis enjoyed fishing. (Photo: Supplied/Jeanine Boshoff)")
The filling station on Walmer Main Road was less than 500m from their home. On their way back, they were involved in the collision.
Police previously said the 26-year-old driver of the Kia was arrested on charges of culpable homicide and driving under the influence.
For Boshoff, the consequences of that night have never ended.
“There were days where I just wanted to go. It’s been tough,” she said.
Today, she continues to live with physical and emotional pain. But she said she had found a reason to keep fighting.
“The man responsible for my son’s death — he gets to live his life. He’s getting married in a month, starting a new family and everything,” she said.
“But if I can make a change and be in Aden’s name, where I can save another child or another mom, I will gladly do that.”
Boshoff said she did not want Aden’s death to be remembered only as another road tragedy.
“I always say there is nothing that is a weapon. It’s when it’s in your hands, and we all know what alcohol does.”
She said the traffic-calming measures would serve as a visible reminder of what happened.
“When I saw that traffic circle being built, they will remember why and what it is,” she said.
An intelligent, gentle boy
For Boshoff, Aden was far more than the 12-year-old boy who died in the crash.
“He was so intelligent,” she said.
Although he was home-schooled, Aden was already thinking about his future.
“He phoned me one day and said, ‘Mommy, why do I have to go to school if we can just apply for college or these online courses where I can do a diploma in IT?’”
“He was full of life. He was so gentle.”
Aden loved fishing, rugby, cricket, soccer and motorbikes, and had a particular passion for stock car racing.
On Fridays, when the family had a braai, Aden would prepare the steak and get everything ready.
“He would WhatsApp me while I was at work and say, ‘I’m done with school. I put the steak out, and I’m getting everything ready. We’re going to braai.’”
“He was just ... he wasn’t a child. He was so much more. He had so many dreams. He used to have the brightest laugh. And I can’t hear it any more. There is none,” said Boshoff, struggling to hold back tears.
/file/attachments/orphans/Photo4_536497.jpg "Traffic-calming measures recently installed along Main Road in Walmer, between 10th and 11th Avenues. (Photo: Kyran Blaauw)")
Turning grief into a campaign
Boshoff said her campaign for safer roads had become part of ensuring those dreams were not forgotten.
“I lived in [Gqeberha] for a long time. And something had to be changed. Something needs to happen. It can’t go on like that.”
She said broken streetlights and dangerous roads could put other families at risk.
“Campaigning for these traffic-calming measures is my way of ensuring that Aden’s legacy is going to go forward.”
She knows the measures cannot undo what happened. But she hopes they will prevent another family from experiencing the same devastation.
“Moving forward is not easy at all. There is no guidance book. It’s a journey. It’s self-discipline as well,” said Boshoff. DM
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