Durban - The driver of the bakkie involved in the horror crash that claimed the lives of eight Fezokuhle Primary School pupils made a brief appearance in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Monday.
Lungile Mthimkhulu, 33, kept her head bowed as she stepped into the dock, charged with eight counts of culpable homicide, alternatively reckless and negligent driving.
On January 28, a bakkie transporting more than 25 children crashed through the boundary wall of a home and into the house killing six children instantly, with two dying later in hospital.
Police suspected early on that brake failure was the cause of the horror crash, however after eight months of investigations, it is believed that the brakes of the bakkie were damaged during the crash, and this was not the cause of the accident.
Mthimkhulu, also injured in the crash, disappeared from the public eye soon after her discharge from hospital and moved out of Imbali because of community outrage after the accident.
Some of the families of the victims, present in court on Monday, told the Daily News they were very upset and disappointed that Mthimkhulu had not approached them to apologise or offer an explanation for what happened.
Mthimkhulu’s case was adjourned to December 15. She is out on a warning. The victims of the accident as listed in the charge sheet are:
Snekhonke Mchunu, 8
Owami Mahlaba, 10
Sinenhlanhla Nkomo, 8
Akhona Shezi, 9
Sinethemba Chonco, 7
Snenhlanhla Dlamini, 7
Olwethu Vilakazi, 9
Nonzuzo Zuma, 11
Daily News
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