BARBERTON – Just before 08:00 on Thursday morning a minibus taxi collided with a minibus from Hop, Skip & Jump. Both were transporting children and luckily no one was seriously injured, but it could have been much more serious.
According to Alta de Jager of the school, she was waiting to turn right out of Sheba Road into Van Niekerk Street with her indicator on, and proceeded to do so when she was hit on the side by the Venture.
This resulted in the school vehicle hitting the wall of a private residence.
It appeared that De Jager was not in possession of a PDP at the time of the accident, but according to her, the traffic department in Nelspruit had assured her a while back that she didn’t need one when transporting people without remuneration.
Approximately 11 children, from both vehicles, were admitted to hospital for observation. Some sustained minor injuries but were in a stable condition, according to Jan Oberholzer of Barberton EMS.
On Monday De Jager told us that the police report incorrectly stated that the taxi wasn’t transporting any passengers at the time. She said she would take this up with the designated person in charge on Tuesday.
The damage to her vehicle has been estimated at about R63 000 and she is currently in negotiations with the owner of the taxi to have the damage repaired. She had no insurance on the vehicle and assured us that indemnity forms had been signed by the parents.
