A truck driver in South Africa bypassed a double continuous lane and ran head-on into a bus full of children, he is accused of manslaughter and negligent driving. He explained himself to authorities after initially fleeing the scene. All the children killed were between the ages of 5 and 12
Nineteen children and two adults were killed last Friday on a highway in northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa when a truck rammed head-on into a school bus carrying many students. The truck driver was caught on camera footage of the truck’s interior trying to illegally overtake another truck on a double lane on a two-lane highway, and ramming into the bus, local media reported.
According to reports in the local media, the driver is accused of manslaughter and negligent driving. He turned himself in to authorities after initially fleeing the scene, all the children killed were between the ages of 5 and 12, the two adult victims were reportedly the bus driver and another passenger. According to local reports, none of the bus passengers survived.
@MbalulaFikile @SANRAL_za Trucks are killing us on the Pongola N2 , no traffic cops manning this route except local traffic cops when trucks get to town. We request your urgent intervention. pic.twitter.com/IAc2GktJro
—Jabu Hansen (@minyamadoda) August 26, 2022
Residents of the area said that “recklessness on the part of truck drivers traveling on the N2 road has become commonplace, truck drivers simply drive however they want, and some truck companies do not pay their drivers properly.”
A senior official at the Ministry of Transportation, Sipo Lomoka, said that an investigative team worked around the clock to arrest the truck driver. “It is clear that the truck driver broke all the laws in the book. This is the type of behavior that causes fatal accidents and it is unacceptable. The driver must face it, and we will follow the developments in this case, there is no excuse for such behavior by drivers. It is painful that the death toll has risen to 21. Once again, we wish to send our deepest condolences to all the affected families, students, teachers and members of the school’s governing bodies,” he said.
SAD | Truck Accident at Pongola N2, KwaZulu Natal. Collision with a van that was carrying children from school earlier this evening. 17 children are confirmed dead pic.twitter.com/6n5MsHyZMp
— Vehicle Trackers (@VehicleTrackerz) September 16, 2022