News24 | Vaal horror crash: Death toll rises to 14 as 2 more pupils die

The death toll from this week’s Vaal scholar transport crash has risen to 14.

• The death toll from the Vaal scholar transport crash has risen to 14, after two more pupils died on Thursday.
• The 22-year-old scholar transport driver involved in the tragic incident was expected to appear in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
• In a separate incident on Thursday morning, two children and a driver escaped unharmed after their scholar transport caught fire in Vosloorus.

The death toll from this week’s Vaal scholar transport crash has risen to 14 after two more children died, Gauteng police said on Thursday.

Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo, said the two pupils died in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The driver was expected to appear in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Concerns over scholar transport safety have been thrust into the spotlight following the crash.

The initial death toll was 12.

READ | Vaal scholar transport crash: Driver now facing 14 counts of murder

It appeared the driver was trying to overtake other vehicles when the crash occurred.

During Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s visit to Sebokeng on Tuesday, he also revealed that the driver had been operating without a valid professional driving permit (PDP).

“On the basis of the work done by the police, we have now established that the PDP, which is the public driver’s certificate, expired last year in November. Therefore, he was driving without the necessary permits,” Lesufi said at the time.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident on Thursday, three people - two siblings, aged 10 and 6, and a driver - managed to escape unharmed after the scholar taxi they were travelling in caught fire in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.

City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services spokesperson William Ntladi said the fire was believed to have been a result of a mechanical or electrical fault.

“The two terrified children were given counselling on the scene by firefighters, and their parents were also called immediately to the incident scene,” he said.