‘Driver recklessness resulted in fatal crash’

SIBUSISO Siyaya, 28, the truck driver who crashed into a stationary bakkie packed with 18 schoolchildren, killing them as well as the driver and a passenger seated in the front, will reappear in the Pongola Magistrate’s Court tomorrow for his bail application.

According to the accident report, made public by Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula, Siyaya was allegedly negligent in his driving.

Mbalula said the report found that Siyaya had overtaken multiple vehicles, where this action was prohibited by solid white roadway lines, in a dangerous and unlawful manner.

“This driver recklessly overtook

vehicles and drove on the oncoming lane for approximately 1.2km. These vehicles had to swerve out of the way of the approaching truck. The driver never made any attempt to return to his correct lane, but continued driving against oncoming traffic, putting lives of other motorists at risk,” he said.

Mbalula said the truck driver’s actions was extremely reckless, and also criticised the driver of the bakkie, who was also killed in the crash, saying the bakkie was not permitted to carry that many passengers.

Mbalula said regulation 250 of the National Road Traffic Act of 1996, which came into effect in May 2017, prohibited transportation of school children or any other person in the goods compartment of a motor vehicle for reward.

The report concluded that Siyaya’s error was the major contributing factor to the root cause of the fatal crash.