His advocate, William Fischer, said his client has been "very emotional" after the devastating accident, which has sparked outrage around the country.
"My client woke up after the accident a different man. To him it's like living in a bad dream. He is like a newborn baby again - trying to make sense of the world and what has happened," said Fischer.
Humphreys appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrate's Court yesterday on 10 charges of culpable homicide. The matter was postponed for the state to gather information.
Last Wednesday, Humphreys allegedly zigzagged through the booms at the Buttskop level crossing in Blackheath when his taxi, carrying 14 children, collided with a train. Humphreys was taken to a nearby hospital, where he celebrated his 55th birthday with a security guard watching over him.
On Sunday, moments after being discharged, he was arrested and taken to the Mfuleni police station.
As Humphreys was led into court yesterday, he smiled and waved at photographers.
One police officer escorting him, who asked not to be named, told The Times that Humphreys displayed "strange" behaviour. "He shouted 'I love you' to the photographers.
"And he said he wanted to face the parents of the children in court to apologise to them.
"But he didn't seem mentally well," the officer said.
In the court room, Humphreys seemed restless and fidgety.
He had stitches and a few cuts on his head. Fischer told the court that Humphreys was asthmatic and needed medication. It was decided that he would be held at the notorious Pollsmoor prison.
Magistrate Gerald Hattingh said: "I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the parents and family of the deceased.
''I do this as a parent. My sympathy to the accused. He, too, has family."
State advocate Quinton Appels has been assigned as the prosecutor in the matter. Appels has, over the years, been involved in several high-profile cases in the Cape Town High Court.
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