Durban - The driver of a taxi in which 4 children died and 16 others were injured in Ntuzuma, Durban, on Wednesday, allegedly sped past a taxi association checkpoint, to avoid being fined for overloading.
Speaking to the Mercury at the scene of the accident, chairman of the Ntuzuma Taxi Association Velaphi Gumede said the driver had ignored them flagging him down just metres before the crash site.
An eyewitness said the taxi came “barrelling down” Ingcebo Road as a bus headed towards the Durban Transport depot. When the two collided, the front right side of the bus ripped off the side of the taxi.
Gumede said they had teams stationed around the township doing random checks of taxis belonging to their association, especially with the heavier traffic as children started school on Wednesday.
“He (the driver) was carrying an overload (of passengers). In such a case we stop and fine the driver. We let him take only the maximum legal number of passengers and find alternative transport for the
remaining passengers,” said Gumede.
In the 15-seater taxi was Nonkayiso Dlamini, a 14-year-old who was to start Grade 7 at Isibonelo High School in KwaMashu. She had been sitting behind the driver with six other pupils and the conductor.
The point of impact where the minibus taxi collided with a bus in Ntuzuma. Picture: Gcina Ndwalane/The Mercury
She was one of the pupils reported by the Department of Health to have suffered only minor injuries.
The department said those injured were aged between 13 and 17. Seven were seriously injured while a 15-year-old-boy who sustained life-threatening injuries was airlifted by EMS helicopter to a specialised hospital.
Community members looked on as police worked the scene. Some parents also gathered, including Nkosinathi Mjwara, whose daughter Thabisile Myeni, 16, died in the crash, and son Benny Myeni, 13, was injured.
He was offered condolences by MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nomusa Dube-Ncube, who rushed from another engagement to attend the scene.
Dube-Ncube sang a hymn with the community, asking them to pray for the injured and the families of the dead. She also asked them to pray for emergency service workers who saw such traumatic scenes every day, and for patience on the part of public transport drivers.
“Had there been a driver who was patient with the other and stopped, this would not have happened. We pray that God enters the hearts of drivers, and ours, not to pressure them to drive fast.”
In a statement from her de-
partment she later said: “Our hearts are really sore at what has transpired today. From the reports that we have received, this accident could have been avoided if the taxi driver had just obeyed the rules of the road,” said Dube-Ncube.
Only two days ago, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters released road crash and fatality figures for the festive season, which showed that the number of road deaths in KZN had increased by 18%.
Nationally, passengers constituted 40% of the 1714 people who died on the country’s roads between December 1 and January 1. Drivers accounted for 24% and the rest were pedestrians or cyclists.
Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwana visited some of the injured pupils at the KwaMashu Community Health Centre.
“We are relying on the police to tell us what happened, but drivers must understand that if they are ferrying pupils, they are carrying the future of South Africa.”
Political parties and various government departments offered condolences to the families of the dead on Wednesday.
The MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mxolisi Kaunda, said: “This crash comes in spite of our tireless efforts to curb road crashes in the province, and it is extremely painful. We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, and wish the injured learners speedy recovery.
“We further appeal to drivers to exercise extreme caution on the road at all times to ensure that people’s lives are saved,” said Kaunda.
Police spokesman Colonel Thembeka Mbele said the taxi driver had been hospitalised. There was no word on the bus driver.
“A case of culpable homicide will be registered for investigation,” she said.