Only two weeks into the school year, and tragedy has struck, with a Grade 1 student being run over while waiting for school transport.
Also read: Ricardo Mackenzie concerned about increase in road fatalities
Arkash Okwan Mpayipheli, a six-year-old from Langa, died just outside the gates of Wespoort Primary in Mitchells Plain while waiting for scholar transport.
According to IOL, a witness saw the driver waiting outside the school and hooted for the child to approach.
The boy then ran across the street, which is when tragedy struck. Arkash collapsed on the pavement and died at the scene.
The school has since requested privacy as they prepare to inform the rest of Arkash’s classmates of his death.
In a letter, school principal Malika Ismail-Meyer expressed her condolences to the family and stated that the entire school community had been devastated.
‘We are a school and community in mourning. We ask that no false information be spread regarding the incident and we ask that you please respect the family and stop circulating videos and images on social media.
‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family during this difficult time and we pray that the Almighty places peace and contentment in the hearts of his family members affected by this great loss,’ she said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie, confirming the incident, said: ‘Mitchell’s Plain police opened a culpable homicide docket for further investigation following an incident that claimed the life of a 6-year-old boy at about 3pm on Thursday at Merrydale Street, opposite Westpoort Primary School in Portlands, Mitchells Plain.’
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‘Preliminary information suggests that the child was hit by a vehicle, driven by a 58-year-old female. The boy collapsed and succumbed to internal injuries. The circumstances around the incident are under investigation.’
According to Bronagh Hammond, a spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department, psychologists have been deployed to the school to assist with counselling.
‘The WCED sends its condolences to the family, friends and the school community. ‘This is a tragic and sad incident,’ Hammond said.
This is the second time the school has experienced a tragedy. Last year, the school also mourned the death of seven-year-old Katlego Banga, who was involved in a horrific accident on AZ Berman Drive.
The Grade 2 student was one of six Khayelitsha children thrown from a Toyota Hilux bakkie after driver Mninikhaya Mvuli allegedly lost control of the vehicle and collided with a tree and a robot.
The accident brought scholar transport to the forefront, sparking a massive outcry for stricter measures against drivers, particularly those without permits to transport learners.
Ricardo Mackenzie, Western Cape MEC of Mobility, reiterated the importance of operating licences, vehicles, and driver fitness just last week as schools opened.
He had joined Western Cape traffic officers, the Provincial Regulatory Entity, and City officials in a scholar transport enforcement operation.
He stated that roadblocks were part of their operation to monitor student transport and prevent fatal incidents involving schoolchildren.
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Also read:
Traffic accident claims the lives of five schoolchildren in Cape Town
Picture: note thanun / Unsplash