Breaking: Taxi Driver Arrested After Gauteng Scholar Transport Crash Claims 12 Young Lives

Monday morning in the Vaal should have been like any other school day. Instead, families across Vanderbijlpark woke to the kind of news that reshapes entire communities. Twelve learners, travelling in a Toyota Quantum on their way to class, were killed when the vehicle crashed into a truck. Five others were taken to hospital, and South Africans have been grappling with disbelief ever since.

A Community Wakes To Heartbreak

Gauteng police confirmed that the 22-year-old taxi driver behind the wheel of the scholar transport vehicle has been arrested after being discharged from hospital. Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said the driver now faces 12 counts of culpable homicide and charges of reckless and negligent driving. He is expected to appear in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrates’ Court within 48 hours.

Police spent hours moving between hospitals and the mortuary to verify the numbers, a grim task that confirmed the scale of the tragedy. Twelve learners died at the scene. Of the five taken for treatment, one has already been discharged, while three remain hospitalised. The truck driver involved in the crash walked away unharmed, though his passenger is recovering from injuries.

One Child Still Unidentified

Among the most heartbreaking details is that one of the 12 learners has yet to be identified. Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said officials are stationed at the mortuary to support families as they arrive, and that every effort is being made to ensure the child’s identity is confirmed.

At Hoërskool Vanderbijl, where three of the learners attended, staff and pupils gathered in shock as psychosocial support teams arrived. The department has deployed counsellors to multiple schools in the area to assist classmates, educators and parents trying to make sense of the sudden loss.

Families Left Reeling, Leaders Step In

Mabona confirmed that Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane will visit the families of the deceased, including one family that lost two children in the same crash. Later on Wednesday, Premier Panyaza Lesufi, along with provincial and national education and health leaders, will brief the media on the government’s next steps.

Behind the statements and briefings lies a community searching for stability. Schools are working on memorial service arrangements, while local organisations have offered help with funeral support.

The confirmed fatalities span several schools across the Sedibeng region:
• Hoërskool Vanderbijl (three, including one unidentified)
• Vaal High School (one)
• Oakwood Primary School (one)
• Vaal Triangle Primary School (one)
• Oliver Lodge Primary School (one)
• Noordhoek Primary School (one)
• El Shaddai Independent School (four)

A Call For Sensitivity Online

As news of the tragedy spread, so did misinformation. Mabona urged the public to stop sharing unverified images, especially AI-generated visuals portraying children who have no connection to the crash. Online, parents have echoed the call, sharing their frustration over insensitive posts and pleading for compassion.

Locals have taken to social media to share prayers, offer help, and remind others that the families involved deserve privacy as they navigate unthinkable grief. Many have criticised long-standing concerns around the safety and regulation of scholar transport in the province, calling for stronger oversight.

A Painful Reminder

For Gauteng residents, especially those in the Vaal, the crash has reignited conversations about road safety, overloaded vehicles and the responsibility of drivers entrusted with children’s lives. Scholar transport incidents are not new in South Africa, but each tragedy feels heavier than the last, because behind every number is a home, a classroom, a future that will never unfold.

As investigations continue and families prepare for funerals, the province finds itself united in mourning. This week, no one in Vanderbijlpark is just a bystander. The loss is shared, and the questions that follow are urgent.

{Source:IOL}

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