Bronkhorstspruit crash blamed on road of death

A week before the horror crash that killed 18 schoolchildren in Mpumalanga last week, a pupil from the same school died after being hit by a car on the same road, just a few kilometres away.

Then, last Sunday, two days after the school bus crash, two people died 100m away after a car they were travelling in hit a cow.

Locals say the stretch of road, which is part of the R25 that cuts through Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, is a "death trap" that has "ended many lives".

While most of the R25 has been upgraded, a 13km strip between the Gauteng border and the small town of Verena remains a killing ground.

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Last week's crash, in which most of the children burnt to death while trapped in the overturned taxi bus, has highlighted the dismal condition of the road, which is narrow, with a jagged drop from the tarmac to the gravel shoulder. It is also a busy thoroughfare for trucks.

In the past four months, 25 people have died in 12 accidents on the 39km Mpumalanga stretch of the road, according to the province's department of community safety, security and liaison. A further nine were seriously injured.

Richard Benson of the Road Safety Action Campaign said the road posed a major danger to motorists and pedestrians.

"We feel the road should be prioritised and upgraded. There should also be more traffic policing to make sure motorists obey the rules of the road," he said.

Petros Sindani, who lives in Wolwekop, where the school taxi accident happened, said the road had "ended many lives".

He said: "The stretch from Verena to the Gauteng border is the most dangerous. It has narrow lanes, a lot of trucks and you have to navigate around potholes. Just the Sunday after the pupils' accident a car ferrying congregants from Zion [Christian Church] crashed into a cow and two people died."

Mahlenga Secondary School principal Christina Zanele Jiyana said Grade 11 pupil Doctor Masombuka died on April 12 when a donkey cart he and his friends were riding in was hit by a car.

Mpho Gabashane, spokesman for the Mpumalanga department of public works, roads and transport, said the first phase of the R25 upgrade had been completed in September 2015. It covered 26km from Verena to the Limpopo border .

The remaining portion would only be upgraded in the 2018-19 financial year, he said.

Of the 18 pupils who died in last week's crash, 14 were from Refano Primary School, and four were from Mahlenga. Their ages ranged from six to 16. Two adults, Amos Mnguni, 75, and Mahlenga school governing body chairman Wonderboy Mancane Masilela, 39, also died. Seven pupils survived.

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Among the survivors was 14-year-old Lindokuhle Khumalo, who lost her best friend, Mimi Matibela, 15, in the crash.

Lindokuhle, who suffered neck and back injuries, was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

Still visibly shaken, she said she could not remember anything about the crash.

"I was seated at the back of the taxi chatting with my friends; that is the last thing I remember. I woke up in hospital."

Lindokuhle said the accident would not stop her from returning to school and that she would dedicate her passing her grade to her friend Mimi.

"I am shattered. It's really painful that I lost Mimi. We've been friends since primary.

"When they told me that she died I couldn't even cry, I was just speechless. I thank God that he saved my life."

Masilela, whose two sons Nkosinathi, 14, and Ayanda, 8, also died in the accident, was "the pillar of the family", said his younger brother Simon.

"He was a hard worker and a people person. When we first heard about the accident, we were hopeful that maybe one or two of [the family members] had survived, but [it was] for the worse," said Simon.

In the Mayisela family, siblings Thapelo, 15, Sibusiso, 10, and Nokuthula, 8, were all killed.

Their father, Maxwell Mayisela, said he was haunted by the sight of his children's burnt bodies in the taxi.

"On my way to the accident scene, I heard that some of the pupils had survived. I was hopeful that maybe [my children] had survived. It was like I was dreaming when I got there and they were all gone," he said.