JOHANNESBURG - The grieving families of 12 school children are still trying to make sense of a tragedy that has shattered their lives.
The crash occurred on Monday on a narrow road near Vanderbijlpark, a route notorious for reckless truck driving.
Gauteng authorities have confirmed the driver of the taxi did not have a valid Professional Driving Permit at the time of the accident.
READ: Vaal crash | Scholar transport driver was operating with an expired permit
The 22-year-old driver has now been arrested.
Preliminary investigations point to reckless and negligent driving as the likely cause.
Anger and grief are spilling over with growing calls for tighter regulation, and even the scrapping of scholar transport.
Authorities insist reckless and negligent driving may have been the cause of the tragedy,
“The taxi driver was also discharged, arrested and interviewed by police," said Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi.
"It has now been established that the PDP expired in November; therefore, he was driving without a valid license.”
Both provincial and national governments are calling for stricter compliance and regulations...
READ: 'We're devastated' | Grandfather breaks silence after fatal Vaal crash
“The work that the National Government and DBE are doing is to see how best we can incorporate private operators so they can be registered and identified,” said Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube.
The taxi driver faces 12 counts of culpable homicide, while two pupils remain in a critical condition.
Meanwhile, the department says psycho-social services have now been deployed to assist affected families and schools.
- eNCA’s Manqoba Mchunu reports.