Village still shocked after girl’s death in crash

OHRIGSTAD – The learner who was tragically killed in last week’s bus accident has been identified as Tumelo Esther Mthimkhulu (19).

The bus, that transported Mthimkhulu and fellow learners, was traveling on the R555 from Maepa Village towards Machaile Secondary School. It collided with another stationary bus directly after a bend in the road, approximately five kilometers from Ohrigstad.

The bus was taking the pupils to school when the accident took place. The seriously injured pupils were transported by ambulance to Dilokong Hospital near Maandagshoek. The driver of the school bus was not injured. The stationary bus was empty. “Two pupils were transferred from Dilokong Hospital to Mankweng Hospital in Polokwane by ambulance while one pupil was airlifted by helicopter from Dilokong to Mankweng due to his critical condition. He is still in ICU, but he is in a stable condition,” reported Const Kholofelo Phokane, spokesman for the local police.

Mthimkhulu grew up in Mapea Village and had an 18-month-old baby girl, Hessi. They were living with her younger brother, Tshepo Mthimkhulu who is in grade six and her grandmother, Ms Maria Mnisi (74). Mthimkhulu and her brother were left orphaned when they were still very young. The grandmother took the responsibility to raise them. The only income of the family is the monthly pension grant that Mnisi and Tshepo receives.

“Esther’s baby is currently staying with other family members in a village. We will decide after the funeral who will take care of her. Hessi’s father is not around to look after her. Esther’s burial society will handle the funeral expenses, but we still do not know the exact cause of her death as we are still awaiting the post-mortem report from the police.

“Workers from Hanna Lodge notified me of Esther’s death. I am still heartbroken; there is now nobody to take care of me when I grow older. On the morning of the accident, I gave Esther R20 to buy a cabbage and tomatoes when she came home from school, but she never returned. I am still asking myself, why my granddaughter? She had her whole life in front of her and she had a child to take care of,” Mnisi said.

Steelburger/Lydenburg News spoke to another learner who was also in the bus and who had sustained a leg injury. Precious Marabe, a grade nine pupil is still traumatized. “The farmers helped to free us from the wreckage. At that moment I did not realize the seriousness of my injury, only afterwards I felt I couldn’t walk on my leg. The ambulance transported me to Dilokong Hospital where they treated me. I cannot remember how the accident happened, I only remember the horrific scene afterwards,” Marabe explained. She told the newspaper that she knew Esther, but hesitated to talk about the accident in detail and her connection with the deceased.

According to Marabe, Machaile Secondary School staff visited some of the injured pupils and told to recover at home before returning to school. They will sort out the exams after the injured learners have made a fully recovery.

One of the employees of Machaile Secondary School stated that the accident was reported to the Limpopo Department of Education and any further investigations and enquiries regarding the accident would be handled by the department. Ms Mapule Mokwena, principal of the school was unable to give her comment.

While Steelburger/Lydenburg News visited Maepa Village the residents complained about the conditions of the school buses. They alleged that they were death traps for the children. They want the government to build a school close to the village so that the children could walk. They threatened the municipality with a protest if this issue was not resolved in

due course.