The Department of Transport has confirmed that 20 people, including 18 children, and two adults lost their lives in an accident that involved a bakkie that school learners were traveling in and a truck on the N2 road, near Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal. The department has shared that the truck driver is facing charges of culpable homicide.
According to the department’s spokesperson, Lwaphesheya Khoza, the bodies of the deceased were a bit dire to allow for identification of the bodies to take place.
In an interview, Khoza announced:
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RMTC) will soon give a finalised accident report, which will then allow families to identify their loved ones.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has since passed his condolences to the families of the victims. The department has also shared it will be dealing with a case of gross driver negligence, which will be taken up through its RMTC.
The Corporation’s spokesperson, Simon Zwane has also confirmed that they are aware that trucks had been involved in a few accidents this year.
It is said that the community of Phongola has been raising concerns of road safety since their uproar on a social media platform back in 2019.
Recently, Mbalula has mentioned that the department needs to move trucks from roads to rail, and that he will be giving a detailed plan around that matter.
KZN South African Democratic Teachers Union chairperson, Samson Yende has also pointed out there is a need for a regulation that should state that a van cannot take a large number of learners because it is in a situation like this that the lives of people are put in danger.
