45-year-old Johannes Smolders was killed when 54-year-old Frederick Earhart from Alvinston hit him with his pickup truck while Smolders was out cycling on Thanksgiving Day 2021.
In a London courtroom last week, Earhart avoided any jail time basically because the case had been before the courts too long and there was a fear he may face no punishment at all. Smolders’ widow, Sonia Freiter tells myFM it’s very disappointing.
Freiter was asked by myFM if she ever thinks she’ll be able to have closure, following her husband’s tragic death.
One thing that has kept the family going has been help from the community, and Freiter says they can’t thank them enough.
She reminds the public that in cases like these, which sadly, there are too many of, they can make a difference.
For now, Freiter would just like people to remember her husband, and the wonderful man he was. And she told myFM there’s a way we can all do that.
Frederick Earhart was given a conditional sentence for failing to remain at the scene of the crash. He’ll serve the first year under house arrest and the second under a curfew and also can’t drive for a year. He’s also attending alcohol treatment.
Written by: L. Dickson