Heads are rolling in North West after 51 learners were involved in a horrific accident after their scholar transport driver lost control of the bus in Welverdiend near Lichtenburg.
It is alleged that the driver jumped out of the moving bus after the steering wheel popped out, leaving the bus loaded with children to hit bushes before coming to a stop.
Learners who witnessed the incident say this is not the first incident where the bus steering wheel came off while it was in motion.
Department of Community Safety and Transport Management says its contract with the operator has been terminated as preliminary investigation reveal that the operator had rented a different bus to be tested on the day of the vehicle verification process.
“The bus left, and it then hit a ditch on the road and continued moving and then the accident happened. I didn’t really hear anything. All I heard was a bang and then I fell down. They say after the bus hit the ditch on the road, it kept moving a bit and then the steering wheel popped out and the driver couldn’t put it back in. And when he saw that the bus was going out of the road, he jumped out and the bus then went into the bush,” says Tshegofatso Otukile, an injured learner.
The traumatic incident that led to the hospitalization of more than 20 of the 51 learners who were on board.
“I’m really traumatized because I’m going to fall behind at school. Even when I study, I struggle. On Friday we are writing but I won’t be there,” Otukile added.
Parents of the affected learners are now demanding accountability for what happened.
“As parents we want our children to be assisted and compensated by government. And they must also sue the bus owner because how was this bus approved to transport learners in the condition that it was, because now that my son’s waist has been injured, we don’t know how this injury will affect him as he grows up,” says Sam Pietersen, a parent.
“These children are really traumatized by what happened. We need social workers to assist these learners who need counselling at home not just at school. They have many different injuries including broken bones and some internal injuries. The saddest thing here is that the road here is in a bad condition and causes accidents yearly,” says Glenda Monareng, another parent.
The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management says its contract with the operator has been terminated.
“We got a report from the schools that it was not for first time that the steering wheel was disengaged. They told us that it was disengaged at some point but the driver managed to regain control of the bus and when it happened for the second time this week that’s the only time that we heard when we visited the school yesterday. But safe to say, we are also aware that some of the operators having had the buses that were verified by our traffic officers, when the schools opened, they then brought other buses similar to what we are now dealing with where a bus now got into an accident,” says Dr Hans Kekana from the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management.
The department says it has directed its law enforcement officers to inspect learner buses to and from school.
