"Bye, my baby," whispered Rochelle Smith as her seven-year-old son Reece was lowered into the ground at Welgemoed Cemetery, Cape Town, yesterday.

In bleak weather , she huddled under an umbrella with her elder son, Wymond, 13, staring sadly at the little white coffin as family and friends sang the hymn Jesus Loves the Little Children.

Families of the 10 child victims of the taxi collision with a train at Buttskop level crossing, in Blackheath, have begun to bury their children.

The two small graves of Reece and Jason Petro, 14, are only a few metres apart.

Reece's mother Rochelle, her partner Bryan van Heerden, and Jason's parents exchanged condolences.

Reece, said to be a lively and friendly little boy, was looking forward to his eighth birthday on September 11.

"Every day, he would ask whether it would be his birthday the next day," said Van Heerden.

"He wanted a bicycle and a month ago I gave him a R10 to enter a competition to win a bicycle at the Kuilsriver Rugby Club. That evening, he returned to the organisers and wanted to take his bicycle home. When they said they would still have to draw a winner he was in tears. He thought he had bought the bicycle."

Reece's friends from Kalkfontein Primary School paid tribute to him in church.

Smith said the family of the taxi driver, Jacob Humphreys, visited her last week.

"They brought flowers and a sympathy card. His wife couldn't stop apologising for what had happened," she said.

"Right now, I can't say I am angry at him, but I can't say I forgive him. But being angry won't bring my boy back."

The last time Smith saw her "baby" she gave him his "usual big hug and kiss. That morning I told him, 'I love you and don't forget to greet the driver'," she said.

It has been alleged that Humphreys swerved past the level-crossing boom as the train approached. The taxi was carrying 14 children. Of the four survivors, only one has been discharged from hospital.

Humphreys was arrested on his discharge from hospital on Sunday. He appeared on Tuesday in the Blue Downs Magistrate's Court on 10 charges of culpable homicide. His family, who made a dash for their taxi after his court appearance, hired bodyguards to keep the media at bay.

The case was postponed to September 7. Humphreys is being held at Pollsmoor Prison.

At Reece's funeral, the Rev George Mentoor, who is also a fire brigade chaplain, said that the accident scene still haunted him.

"I've seen many things, ugly things - suicide, murder - but nothing as bad as the [accident scene]," he told the packed church.

Speaking at the memorial service for the children on Sunday, an emotional Western Cape Premier Helen Zille said she was deeply saddened by the tragedy.

"It is a horrific ordeal," she said. "Our prayers are with the parents and the families, and we wish them the comfort of God at this time."

Michaelin de Koker, 11, was buried in Stellenbosch yesterday. She was in the taxi with her brother, Luciano, 16. The teenager survived but cannot come to terms with the loss of his little sister.