More than 40 school children packed in a minibus taxi like sardines were injured when the vehicle was involved in an accident near Verulam in the north of Durban on Wednesday.
Reaction Unit South Africa spokesperson Prem Balram said the children, aged between seven and 13, were on their way to school when their transport got involved in a collision in the vicinity of Buffelsdraai.
According to reports, a Toyota Hilux bakkie was on its way to Verulam when its occupants spotted a dead body laying on the side of the road.
The driver stopped in the emergency lane to alert law-enforcement authorities about a pedestrian who had been killed in a hit-and-run accident.
It was at that stage that the minibus taxi transporting the children to Acacia Primary School in Verulam hit the bakkie from the back.
“The overloaded minibus veered into the oncoming lane and struck a pedestrian before it came to a stop” said Balram.
“The children in the overloaded taxi were aged between seven and 13. The dead pedestrian’s identity is unknown at this stage.”
Balram added that a seven-year-old girl sustained critical injuries and was rushed to the hospital. The other children and the injured pedestrian were also taken to the hospital.
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