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By Yolande Stander
The Knysna Magistrates Court found that negligence by several people contributed to the horrific Rheenendal bus crash which claimed the lives of 14 school children three years ago.
Magistrate Derek Torlage on Friday delivered his findings after a lengthy inquest into the accident on August 24, 2011. The Rheenedal Primary School pupils and 65-year-old driver Tiaan Colin Payle died when the African Express Tata school bus they were traveling in plunged into the Kasatdrift River outside Knysna.
Torlage found that there was prima facie evidence that the Western Cape education department, the testing station which issued a roadworthy certificate for the bus they were traveling on, the bus company owner and the driver had been negligent and that this contributed to the disaster.
Torlage said the department failed to adequately ensure that the bus was fit for transporting passengers, despite complaints by parents.
He further said TJ’s Testing Staiton, which issued the roadworthy certificate just a few weeks before the accident, did so despite various issues with the vehicle including a cracked chassis and a defective right rear brake.
He added negligence on the part of owner of African Express, Praveen Singh, could also not be excluded as the general condition of the bus was in a “very poor state” and that no preventative maintenance had been done.
Torlage’s recommendations will now be directed to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for a decision whether to prosecute or not. Parents can also possibly proceed with civil claims.
Advocate Norman Arendse, who represented the parents, welcomed Torlage’s findings. “The parents waited for three years to find out who was responsible for the death of their children. We are satisfied with the outcome and it has brought some measure of closure to a very tragic case,” Arendse said.
