Joburg youngsters ‘hijack’ bus during funeral

Several others were injured after the hijacked bus collided with a bakkie on Primrose Street in Lehae, Rising Sun Lenasia reported.

The youngsters, who had been attending a funeral of a friend, allegedly slapped the bus driver before taking off in the bus.

Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen the youngsters “surfing” the bus during the drive to Lehae.

Some were spotted on top of the bus, and one was spotted swinging on the door.

According to the bakkie driver, who only identified himself as Nkosiyam, the bus had sped up behind him as he was about to turn into Lehae.

“As I was turning, the bus failed to stop and yield to oncoming traffic. He (the driver of the hijacked bus) turned right into me,” he said.

“The man I had seen swinging on the door of the bus was thrown off. I don’t know whether he died or whether he was taken to hospital,” Nkosiyam said.

The person who died in the crash was later identified as 29-year-old Zakhele Mtshali.

It remains unclear whether Mtshali had been in the bus or a passenger in the bakkie, as the occupants of the bus ran off following the crash.

Lenasia police spokesperson Captain Hector Netshivodza said: “No arrests have been made at the moment. Investigations are, however, under way”.

While “bus surfing” incidents remain uncommon, train surfing has become rife.

During the 2013/2014 financial year, the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) recorded more than 450 fatalities and nearly 1 500 injuries due to “operational occurrences” on railway lines in the country.

Some 16 of the 456 fatalities were caused by people hanging on to the sides of carriages.

Read more: Train overcrowding is a ‘massive concern’

– Caxton News Service