Four students from Ridgeway College and two from Ridgeway Preparatory were injured on Tuesday morning when the minibus taxi they were travelling in jumped a kerb and crashed through a fence at Makhado Crossing Mall in Louis Trichardt.
The accident occurred along the R524 road from Thohoyandou, at the traffic circle at the Rooibok and Oranje Street intersection. The children were on their way to school. Although the exact cause of the accident is not yet known and remains under investigation, the minibus taxi was travelling in an east-to-west direction through the traffic circle. Just after the Oranje Street turn-off, it jumped the kerb, crashed through a fence, ran down a steep embankment, and came to a stop inside the Makhado Mall premises. Fortunately, the vehicle did not overturn.
"Just to confirm, there were six of our children involved, four from the college and two from the preparatory school. Two were taken to hospital by ambulance from the scene and the other four were brought back to the school by Dr [Gary] Elliott, the executive head. After discussion with their parents, they were later taken to the hospital, just to be checked out. They were all fine," said Ridgeway College in a statement after the accident.
The college also confirmed that of the two taken to hospital by ambulance, one had required stitches on the leg, while the other had sustained a gash on the lip where a tooth had bitten through during the accident.
Those involved in Tuesday morning's accident can count themselves lucky, considering the spate of fatal bus accidents that have occurred across the country over the past month.