The case of the Vaal school transport crash driver, Ayanda Dludla has been postponed to April.
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
The criminal case linked to one of the country’s most devastating scholar transport tragedies has been delayed, leaving families of 14 children who died in the crash still waiting for the judicial process to unfold.
Private scholar transport driver Ayanda Dludla briefly appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in connection with the fatal collision that claimed the lives of the schoolchildren earlier this year. The matter was postponed to April 22 for further investigation.
Dludla, 22, abandoned his application for bail during the brief court appearance and will remain in custody until the next hearing.
Outside court, his legal representative said the young driver was deeply remorseful and struggling to come to terms with the scale of the tragedy.
“He is not coping,” the lawyer told reporters, adding that the defence team was considering options to secure psychological or psychiatric assistance for their client as the case proceeds.
The case of the Vaal school transport crash driver, Ayanda Dludla has been postponed to April.
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
Meanwhile, the victims’ families continue to call for justice as the legal process moves forward.
Dludla was arrested in January following the deadly crash in Vanderbijlpark, where the scholar transport vehicle he was driving collided with an oncoming side-tipper truck.
Investigators and eyewitnesses alleged that Dludla had been speeding and overtaking several vehicles moments before the crash, a manoeuvre that allegedly placed the minibus directly in the truck’s path.
He now faces 14 counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of reckless driving and driving without a valid professional driving permit.
The case has attracted national attention and prompted warnings to scholar transport drivers from various transport associations about the dangers of reckless driving.
The Gauteng Education Department has also condemned the incident.
DAILY NEWS