Police have opened a case of reckless and negligent driving against a minibus taxi driver after his vehicle overturned on Philip Kgosana (De Waal) Drive yesterday, injuring six of the 15 pupils he was taking to school.
The driver fled the crash scene, the taxi had no permit and was unroadworthy, according to provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa.
“I can confirm that a driver of a minibus loaded with schoolchildren lost control and overturned on Philip Kgosana Drive. There were 15 children in the minibus and an 8-year-old boy was seriously injured and five slightly injured.”
City traffic spokesperson Maxine Bezuidenhout said a preliminary investigation was under way.
On Monday, school safety and transportation of pupils took centre stage at a dialogue involving various organisations at Zonnebloem College Estate, District Six.
The dialogue followed media reports on pupil abductions and accidents involving overloaded and unroadworthy minibus taxis that resulted in the death of a Grade 1 Holy Cross Primary School pupil and a Sea Point High School pupil.
The 7-year-old primary school pupil was travelling in a taxi carrying at least 29 children. The driver had no licence and the vehicle was not roadworthy.
Earlier this week a three-year-old boy and an infant were killed in a minibus taxi accident on the N1 near Beaufort West. The driver allegedly fled the scene.
Anyone with information can contact Woodstock SAPS at 021 486 2840 or Crime Stop, 086 001 0111.