In the aftermath of the accident questions have been raised by the family members about the cause of the accident.
The mother of the two girls that were seriously injured said that they are recovering but it has changed their lives completely. “My eldest has to go back to the doctor because of damage to her knee and my youngest is still in hospital. She will walk with a brace. They both love riding horses now she can’t ride for a whole year,” said Mrs van Vuuren.
The accident occurred on April 26 when a scout tour from Pretoria was travelling through eMalahleni towards Nelspruit. The bakkie that rolled seriously injured the three children and lead to the death of one of the scout leaders while the driver remained mostly uninjured. According to Yolande Bezuidenhout who is conducting an investigation on behalf of the family, Irene van Vuuren (12) sustained multiple spinal fractures, deep wounds on her back, a fractured arm, and a head wound among many other injuries including glass shards that had to be removed from her eyelid. She is looking into possible negligence on the part of the driver.
According to the 15 year old girl Renee van Vuuren who was allegedly sleeping in the front passenger seat, she woke up as they approached the toll gate and she apparently saw the driver reaching over behind the passenger seat to get hold of the GPS while trying to drive.” However the driver told authorities that the tyre burst suddenly causing him to lose control.
“I am not going to let them sweep this under the carpet,” said Mrs van Vuuren determined to find out the truth.
Irene was transported to a Hospital in Pretoria earlier this week from eMalahleni Private Hospital. Aiden, the youngest passenger who was sitting in one of the back seats came to visit Irene in Hospital. He was critically injured and sustained a skull fracture.
Mrs Bezuidenhout is asking for any witnesses who might shed more light or detail on the true cause of the incident to please come forward. She can be contacted on 072 5750459.
