Parents rush to bus crash scene
Numerous parents, including the father of the 13-year old Gideon Miller who tragically died in a tragic bus accident close to Laersdrift around 16:30 Sunday, rushed to the scene of the accident to collect their traumatized kids, while members of the farming community assisted the injured.
The accident occurred in wet conditions on the pot hole ridden R555 where the bus overturned and ended up on its side on the clogged culvert of the oncoming lane.
The bus was ferrying children back to schools in Middelburg after a weekend visit to their parents in Steelpoort, Limpopo.
The young Miller, a Grade 8 pupil of the technical high school, was on his way back to the school dorms when the accident occurred.
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He was trapped under the bus after the driver lost control of the bus, leaving the tarmac. When the driver attempted to get back onto the tarmac, the bus overturned, fell onto its side and slid across the road towards the culvert.
Miller traveled back to Steelpoort with his parents around 15:00 on Saturday, after the family attended the youngster’s Grade 8 concert at the school.
Furious residents of the rural community say they’ve been pleading with authorities to do critical upgrades to the road for a number of years.
Emergency workers first had to stabilize the bus, fearing that it may slide further down the muddy slope.
Also read: Een persoon oorlede na bus met skoliere onderweg van Steelpoort na Middelburg omslaan
Farmers and other community members who rushed to the scene assisted the teenage passengers, most of whom sustained only scrapes and bruises, to get out of the bus.
The area received some hail and rain before the tragedy.
The bus driver told police on the scene that he lost control of the bus in the wet conditions.
Due to a steep fall between the tarmac and the road shoulder, the driver could however not succeed in getting the bus safely onto the tarmac.
The steep decline resulted in the bus tipping over.
The culvert underneath the road was clogged with litter, mud and grass, leading to more water flooding the road surface.
Police have not confirmed how many children were on the bus when the tragedy occurred.
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