GEORGE NEWS - Screams and cries of anguish filled the bus that went down Serpentine Pass on Tuesday morning, 20 February, with some 40 learners of Parkdene High praying for their lives.

The brakes of the African Express bus in which they undertake a daily journey from Touwsranten to George allegedly failed going downhill, en route to George.

"The driver steered the bus standing upright, when he couldn't find the brakes," said one of the learners. 

"At one point the bus was moving downhill on two wheels. Children fell from the one side to the other. We narrowly missed four vehicles. We thought we were going to die. The driver managed to free the bus all the way to the bottom of the pass. He cried when we stopped. I cried with him," said the matriculant in his recount of the ordeal.

According to the learners, this happened near a turn in the road they call "mooi huis" or "spieëltjie", because of the beautiful home next to the road, and a traffic mirror a few metres down the road.

Serpentine Pass. Photo: Michelle Pienaar

Many learners walked back to Touwsranten, which took them about an hour, while others got a lift with a taxi. The traumatised learners and their parents gathered at the Touwsranten Community Centre where they waited for someone from the department, or the acting principal of Parkdene High, for comfort. 

They waited all morning. At lunchtime the school's acting principal, Phillip Rothman, arrived to address the group under the shade of a tree outside the community centre.

Acting principal, Phillip Rothman (right), had some tough questions to answer from parents. Photo: Michelle Pienaar

Rothman said a new bus was organised for Thursday 21 February, and teased the children not to skip another day of school. "It's a pity you missed today," he said to one learner. "We had the subject advisor for CAT at the school." Rothman said he organised someone to give counselling at school for those who feel the need to talk to someone.

Close call

A driver from SANParks, who wishes to remain anonymous, was on his way to Touwsranten when the bus narrowly missed him on the Serpentine Pass. "When I came around the corner the bus was in my lane. I had to make a decision in a split second and drove off the road into the bushes. It was very sudden. I literally saw my death."

When the learners recalled their ordeal, they also mentioned a school bus for children attending Carpe Diem Special Needs School in George, which their bus narrowly missed.

According to the SANParks driver, the Carpe Diem School bus drove right behind his bakkie, thus correlating their narrative.

'We don't want a second Rheenendal tragedy'

The incident ignited a wave of outrage from parents who rely on a bus service to transport their children to school. The driving distance between Touwsranten and George is 21km. The parents feel the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED) should rethink their contract with African Express. It is the same bus service that transported learners from Rheenedal on 24 August 2011, when the brakes gave way and the African Express school bus they were travelling in plunged into Kasat-se-Drif. The bodies of 14 learners and the bus driver were pulled from the bus.

Brakes overheated

Praveen Singh, owner of African Express, said in this specific incident on Serpentine Pass, the brakes just overheated. "You are coming down a hill. When it overheats, it causes friction and becomes inactive. We can call it a 'brake failure'. The driver luckily manoeuvred the bus, without an incident, which we are grateful for. He brought it to a stop further down the road."

Singh said it was the first time in 20 years that one of his buses experiences a break failure. "I've sent a mechanic down, but the bus could function normally after the breaks cooled down. The same driver drove back to the depot."

Singh said his buses are being tested for roadworthiness every six months, as prescribed. "I take them to Dekra roadworthy centre and the George Municipal Testing Centre."

Bernadine Wyngaardt (left) comforts some of the learners. Photos: Michelle Pienaar

Trust issues

"This is the third time this year we had trouble with their buses," said Nadine de Wee, a mom whose child was in an African Express bus that had an accident on Kaaimans Pass late last year. "Eight children were hospitalised," she said. "I had to beg my child to go to school after that. It took weeks to work through the trauma."

Marinda van Rooyen, a parent with a child in Tuesday's incident, said it was not merely a bus that broke down. "Our children's lives were in danger."

Mercia Klein said no parent wants to worry about the safety of their children when they get on a school bus. Bernadine Wyngaardt said it was a big shock for her to find out from a friend that a bus accident occurred on Tuesday, since her child uses that service as well. "The department has to take a stand and organise safe transport," she said.

Asked about the other two breakdowns earlier this year, Singh said he knows of two breakdowns this year: "This one and at Bergplaas, where the bus travels on rough gravel. Problems with suspension and undercarriage will be expected."

Thorough investigation

Millicent Merton of the WCED said they would like to assure parents that a thorough investigation will take place to establish the circumstances pertaining to the incident and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

She said the department was informed that the vehicle experienced brake overheating while in transit. "It was reported that the driver promptly responded by safely bringing the bus to a stop on the shoulder of the road outside Touwsranten. Following protocol, a second bus was dispatched to continue the route," said Merton.

"The service provider informed the principal about the incident. The principal notified the Learner Transport Section at the district office. The school principal also went to Touwsranten and spoke to some parents at an informal engagement.

"No learner suffered any physical harm as a result of the incident. However, we recognise that the incident was traumatic for some of the learners, which we intend to address."

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