A mother who lost two of her children in a scholar transport crash in Vanderbijlpark has said that no arrest, trial or court ruling will ever restore peace to her family.
Thirteen learners were killed when a minibus taxi carrying pupils collided with a side tipper truck on a busy road in the Gauteng town. Several others were injured, some seriously, in one of the deadliest school transport crashes in recent years.
Police say a case of culpable homicide has been opened and that both drivers involved are under investigation. Forensic teams are analysing the scene, while mechanical inspections of the vehicles are under way to establish whether roadworthiness or mechanical failure played a role.
Standing near the cordoned-off site on Tuesday, the mother spoke of a home now marked by silence. She described school uniforms laid out for a routine morning that never came, and a family life divided into “before” and “after” the crash.
She said that while she understood the need for an investigation, legal processes offered little comfort. Her children, she explained, had left home for school and never returned. No official outcome could undo that loss.
Police confirmed that four learners remain in hospital in a serious condition. Authorities said post-mortem examinations are being conducted as part of the investigation, and counselling services have been made available to affected families and pupils.
The crash has once again raised questions about road safety and the regulation of scholar transport in Vanderbijlpark and across South Africa. Parents and community members have called for stricter oversight of vehicles used to carry children, as well as improved enforcement of traffic laws involving heavy vehicles.
For families affected by the crash, however, such debates feel distant. Many are focused on coping with grief that arrived without warning. As one relative at the scene put it, the challenge now is learning how to live with an absence that can never be filled.
Local authorities say updates will be provided as the investigation progresses, while schools in the area have planned memorials to honour the learners who died.
