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Vehicle ploughs into youngsters

"It's obvious that I am not going to get a chance to write my exams. There's nothing I can do since I am still in great pain."

HLUVUKANI – Six pupils from various schools in the area, who had allegedly been partying all night at a local tavern, are fighting for their lives in Tintswalo Hospital.
They survived a horrific accident that claimed the lives of four of the group on Sunday morning. The pupils had been on their way home from the tavern when they were knocked down by a vehicle.

The survivors, of whom one is in grade 12, are facing a bleak future as they don’t know whether they will be able to write their final examinations due to hospitalisation.

Matric pupil Bheki Kubaye from Mgena High School said, “I was on my way home when I met up with my peers. I then walked home with them. I suddenly heard screams, everything happened so quickly as I saw the vehicle driving towards me.
“I tried to run away, but it was too late. It knocked me down and the others, too. I don’t know whether the driver lost control of the vehicle, but some of my friends died on the spot,” he said.

Bheki is still traumatised by the incident. “It’s obvious that I am not going to get a chance to write my exams. There’s nothing I can do since I am still in great pain.”
The incident caused quite an uproar in the community. MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Mr Petrus Ngomane lashed out at the tavern owner for selling liquor to minors.

“Let me first send my condolences to the families who lost their loved ones and I wish the survivors in hospital a speedy recovery. I am incredibly distraught to learn that the majority of the victims was minors. The question is: how did the tavern owner allow underaged children onto his premises? Upon our investigation, we discovered that the tavern does not even have a licence.

“This is a serious matter. As from today (Monday) the tavern stopped operating because it failed to comply with the Liquor Board Act. This is just the tip of the iceberg as I am going to clamp down on taverns because clearly, they are not compliant as they do as they please, including not closing on time. I met the survivors and it’s heart-wrenching to see them in such a bad condition,” he said.

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