It has been over a year since two women were killed by a metro bus outside the Boksburg Civic Centre Clinic, but the cause of the accident is yet to be established.
Annatjie van Niekerk (61) of Witfield and security guard Livhuaani Mahashe (44) of Ramaphosa informal settlement died at about 08:00 on April 6, 2021, when a municipal bus driver lost control of the vehicle and ran over them outside the clinic.
The driver, who was not seriously injured, has been working for the metro since 2009 and had no previous record of accidents, according to City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
He also said the bus was in good condition at the time of the accident, which happened on its route from Reiger Park to the Boksburg Bus Depot.
“The bus had a valid roadworthy certificate. It went for a Certificate of Fitness test and passed on November 21, 2020.
“One passenger was in the bus at the time of the accident. The driver and passenger were slightly injured, but the driver was discharged from hospital on the same day.”
According to Dlamini, the damaged bus was towed to the Germiston Bus Depot from the accident scene.
EMPD spokesperson Kelebogile Thepa said witnesses allege that the brakes of the bus failed, which caused the accident that killed the two women.
“The EMPD’s Southern Region Accident Bureau (reconstruction unit) responded to the accident and a case of culpable homicide was registered at the Boksburg Police Station.
“Our officers compiled a photo album and sketch plan of the accident scene and handed these over to the police to be included in the case docket,” said Thepa.
She added that the reconstruction unit members couldn’t conduct a brakes test on the bus as the front of the bus was extensively damaged.
“They couldn’t even take the bus to a vehicle testing station, because of the damage. Because there were fatalities in the accident, a criminal case had to be opened and the Boksburg SAPS assigned a detective to investigate the matter.”
The Advertiser is awaiting a response from the Boksburg SAPS about the status of the investigation.
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