Durban -
They have been described as “the best of the best” whose lives were taken away too soon.
Four Durban families are mourning the deaths of their teenage daughters in a car accident near Ballito on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast on Friday.
The girls, aged between 13 and 17, were on their way back from a leadership camp with fellow pupils from the Victory Christian Academy, a school in La Lucia.
Caitlyn Oliver, 14, Tamia Sewparsad, 13, Saisha Shampersad, 14, and Andrea Thaver, 17, were travelling in the school’s minibus from the Rain Farm when it allegedly collided with a truck.
Teacher Kris Ackerman, was seriously injured. Another pupil, Muhle Qwabe, was injured and is recovering in hospital.
According to the principal, Vernon David, Ackerman had surgery last night and is on a ventilator in an induced coma.
Qwabe’s mother told the Sunday Tribune yesterday that her daughter had sustained head injuries but was recovering well.
“I am so grateful that my child has survived this tragedy. We thank the Lord that she is alive. As a parent, I couldn’t be more thankful. She was very attached to the other girls and this has been a devastating encounter for her.”
Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said the cause of the accident was not yet known.
“Traffic and police officials were on the scene and an investigation is continuing. No arrests have been made because the cause of the accident is not known at this stage,” said Zwane.
Netcare 911 Spokesman Chris Botha said that paramedics and firemen used the jaws of life to cut the vehicle open where they found two people in the twisted metal of the minibus.
“Four children died on the scene, one child and one adult were critically injured,” said Botha.
He said that it was difficult to tell what caused the accident but it appears that the school minibus had hit the side of the truck when turning on to the R102 near Ballito.
The parents of the pupils were too distraught to speak to the Sunday Tribune yesterday and were making funeral preparations.
The principal said that the news had shocked the community and everybody was distraught.
“Yesterday I tried to meet the parents and pass on our condolences to the families. They have decided to have individual funerals for the girls, but the school will plan a joint memorial soon. This is a tragic time for us all and we are still in disbelief, it just doesn’t feel real,” said David.
He described the girls as the “best of the best”.
“Our school and the community have suffered a great loss. These girls were truly amazing. They were the schools brightest sparks; our future prefects and head prefects. They really were the best that our school had and I do not think that we will ever recover from this loss.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of friends, relatives and concerned residents of Durban took to Facebook yesterday to express their shock and sadness.
Some described the girls as “young, talented and kind-hearted souls” who had bright futures ahead of them.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Education said it was always heartbreaking to hear of the loss of lives of young school pupils.
Spokesman Isaac Luthuli said MEC for Education Peggy Nkonyeni would like to pass her condolences to the families.
“We have lost four pupils who could have been our future leaders. It is always devastating to hear of lives lost at such a young age and under such tragic circumstances too. We would like to extend our condolences to both the school and the families and hope that they will remain strong through this difficult time,” he said.
Shampersad and Sewparsad will be buried on Sunday.
Thaver’s funeral will be held at the school on Monday and it is still unclear when Oliver will be buried.
Sunday Tribune