Pongola crash truck driver drove in oncoming lane for 1.2km, report finds

The driver of the articulated coal truck which collided head-on with a bakkie and killed 18 pupils, the driver and assistant teacher in Pongola last week had been driving in the oncoming lane for about 1.2km.

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula revealed details of the horror crash yesterday during a media briefing at the scene in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The report by the Road Traffic Management Corporation found that the driver, Sibusiso Siyaya, 28, overtook multiple vehicles — an action prohibited by no overtaking lines.

“The driver recklessly overtook vehicles and drove in the oncoming lane for approximately 1.2km — vehicles had to swerve out of the way.

“The driver made no attempt to return to his lane.

“Driver error is the major factor in the cause of the crash.”

Mbalula said while the truck driver’s actions were extremely reckless, the driver transporting the 18 primary school pupils had been doing so illegally.

“The driver of the van was transporting scholars at the back of the van.

“This is illegal and extremely dangerous for the passengers at the back of a goods vehicle and highlights the importance of scholar transport in our country.

“Regulation 250 of the National Road Traffic Act of 1996 prohibits transportation of schoolchildren or any other person in a goods compartment of a vehicle for a reward.”

He said the contents of the report would be handed over to the director of public prosecutions and the senior public prosecutor for their consideration.

Mbalula said Sanral had already begun planning a R2.2bn project to upgrade and widen the stretch of road on the N2.