A young schoolboy was killed while five other pupils were critically injured when a Toyota Avanza transporting them to school on Monday morning lost control and overturned in Amalinda near East London.
Provincial transport department spokesperson, Khuselwa Rantjie, said the accident, which claimed the life of the 13-year-old pupil, took place at about 7.20am.
This was after the Avanza driver apparently lost control and his vehicle overturned on the Amalinda onramp to the N2.
Rantjie said the vehicle had seven occupants at the time of the accident, with six of them, including the driver, sustaining “very critical injuries”.
Those injured, Rantjie said, were transported to Frere Hospital and Life St Dominic’s Hospital in East London.
“The pupils in the vehicle were travelling from Mdantsane and were heading to local primary and high schools in East London,” Rantjie said at midday on Monday.
“Local authorities are still conducting further investigations regarding the crash.”
The accident resulted in traffic congestion during the peak hours in the morning, with traffic and police officers redirecting vehicles. Cambridge police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi said they were investigating a case of culpable homicide.
“After the accident, the driver could hardly speak, but he was later identified by the owner of the vehicle at the scene.
“We understand that the children were being driven to various schools in the city and police are now still investigating how the accident could have happened,” said Mbi...