‘I tried to wake her up’: pupil describes horrific scene at Free State bus crash where six schoolgirls died

“Mummy, I tried to wake her up. I kept screaming to her because she was staring at me.”

This is how one of the pupils of Hoërskool Riebeeckstad relayed to her mother the horrific scene that unfolded after a school bus overturned on the R70 Ventersburg-Senekal road in Free State on Tuesday evening, leaving her friend and five other pupils dead. 

The accident involved 58 female pupils who were returning from an all-girls sport event in Moolmanshoek near Rosendal to Riebeeckstad in Welkom. 

The department of basic education said Senekal police confirmed the bus overturned after a wheel came loose and the driver lost control.

Six girls were declared dead on the scene, 40 sustained minor injuries, eight had moderate injuries and four were severely injured, the Free State premier’s office said. 

Free State health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said 24 pupils were treated at Bongani Hospital, but 22 were discharged. One is still in hospital in a serious but stable condition, and another was transferred to Mediclinic Welkom Hospital. The latter treated 17 patients, of which 15 were discharged and two remain. 

Itemoheng Hospital Senekal treated four patients, two were transferred to Dihlabeng Hospital, and two were discharged.

Providing an update on the two patients transferred to Dihlabeng, Mvambi said: “After further specialist examination, it was determined that the severity of the injuries sustained by one of the two patients needed an urgent referral to neurosurgery at Pelonomi Hospital.

“The second patient had multiple facial wounds that were dirty and was taken to theatre for debridement. There’s high possibility that she might get transferred to Bloemfontein’s Pelonomi for plastic surgery,” he said.

Hoërskool Riebeeckstad released a brief statement on their Facebook page, saying they were “shocked and heartbroken” by the accident and extended their condolences to the families of the deceased.

Speaking to TimesLIVE Premium, the mother of one of the girls who were on the bus and escaped with minor injuries, called out the school on its reaction, claiming that they had prior warning of the dangers posed by the bus on the way to the school trip. According to her, the grade 8 pupils were on their way to an overnight camp held for the new pupils and the boy pupils were meant to join later in the week.

“It’s upsetting, I’m more angry than sad, I don’t want to lie,” she said.

The tyre was a problem from the day they left, meaning they did not look into safety protocols. They did not check it.

—  Parent of bus crash survivor

Motaung explained that her daughter sent a video on Monday with a crying emoji showing the burst tyre of the bus. 

This traumatised her daughter and other pupils, and they expressed their desire to return home.

“Now coming back, she said they told the driver to slow down. What she also mentioned was that at one of the garages on the way there, the driver was told there was something wrong with the tyre, and he said ‘it would be okay’. I feel that was very arrogant and negligent on his part.

“When we got to the accident scene, what we saw is that the bus was flipped over and the tyre had burst again,” she said.

Motaung questioned why the burst tyre was not a central focus, given that children had shared videos of it on the way to the camp. Additionally, she said there was no way the school was unaware of the situation, given that help was sent to the stranded bus the day before.

Instead, she said parents were told the accident was related to the suspension dropping, resulting in the bus flipping.

“The tyre was a problem from the day they left, meaning they did not look into safety protocols. They did not check it,” she said.

Motaung detailed what her daughter told her after the accident.

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“Obviously she’s still a bit disorientated, I don’t think she has fully digested everything but it’s how she explained it to me. She said, ‘Mummy, I tried to wake my friend up. I kept screaming to her because she’s staring at me, and I want us to get out because I was getting ready to climb out the window.’

“She said her friend ... was just stiff. When she got out, she saw her friend [another one] stuck underneath the bus,” she recalled.

The disturbed mother said it was her daughter who alerted her to the accident, using the 1% left on her phone battery to make the call.

Driving to the scene was horrific, the parent said. 

“The road was terrible. I mean if there’s one thing we complain about in Free State are the potholes. I myself, driving to the scene, hit a pothole that took out two of my tyres. Luckily because there were other parents on their way there, I managed to get help,” she said.

Free State education spokesperson Howard Ndaba provided an update on the deceased, saying they had not released their names because not all of them had been identified by loved ones.

Commenting on allegations of the roadworthiness of the bus, he said: “That is being investigated, and we’ll comment after we receive a report”.

Ndaba also revealed that a seventh person had since died, a teacher, but this was disputed by Mvambi in an update.

“The hospitals don’t know about the seventh person, thus it’s just a rumour for now. So we are still sitting at six,” he said.

Meanwhile, taking to Facebook, the province shared pictures of the school on Wednesday accompanied by a statement that shared the sombre mood that was felt by all. 

In the images, several girls were seen being comforted on the school premises. Candles were lit in memory of the deceased at the school. 

“We are deeply hurt by what has happened. I would like to emphasise that all the surviving pupils; regardless of how certain they might be, must receive medical attention so that we are sure that they are really okay. I would also like to see the district ensuring that the learners receive urgent counselling,” said education MEC Makalo Mohale.