An inquiry into a 2011 school bus accident near the popular tourist town of Knysna in which 14 school children died and 44 others were injured has begun at the Knysna Magistrate’s Court.
The inquiry, taking the form of a civil trial, aims to determine the cause of the tragic accident in the community of Rheenendal, just outside Knysna on the Garden Route, a popular tourist attraction in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
Legal teams representing the family members of the 15 children who were killed in the accident said that 12 witnesses would be called to the stand to testify in the first week of the trial. Court proceedings began in the Knysna Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Prior to the start of the trial, legal representatives representing all the parties involved in the case, including the family members of the deceased, survivors who were injured in the accident and the company that was operating the bus, visited the scene of the tragic accident.
14 school children below the age of 13 were killed when their school bus veered off the road and plunged into river swollen by recent rains in Rheenendal in August 2011. The driver of the bus was also killed in the incident.
Initial investigations into the accident did not reveal an obvious cause for the crash. It appears that the driver of the bus lost control. Reports that the driver may have fallen asleep behind the wheel have not been substantiated by evidence, and the trial aims to look further into the possible cause of the accident. Once the cause has been established, it will then be up to the justice system to determine which parties should be liable for the deaths and injuries.
The court room has been packed to capacity with members of the media, as well as family members and survivors of the accident, and emotions have been high in the first days of the trial. “This is very emotional for the family members,” said lawyer Jerald Andrews, who is representing some of the accident victims.
This first stage of the hearing is expected to last three days. 24 witnesses in total will be called to the stand, with 12 due to testify tomorrow.
Road traffic accidents are common in South Africa, killing thousands of people each year. Authorities are currently still investigating another deadly bus accident in the Hex River Valley region of the Western Cape that killed at least 24 people last week.