19 children and two adults killed in South Africa after truck collides with car carrying students

A total of 19 children and two adults were killed in South Africa after a truck collided head on with a pick up truck carrying students from local schools on Friday, according to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport.

The accident took place in Pongola in eastern South Africa on national route N2 after a truck driver sped and overtook another vehicle on a double barrier line, “clearly violating all possible traffic regulations, said the department in a Facebook post, describing circulating footage of the incident.

The truck collided head on with a Toyota Hilux pick up truck, killing 19 students from four local schools and two adults including the driver, according to officials. It is unclear at this time how many people in total were in the car and if there are any survivors.

The students ranged in age from five to 12, according to news24, a local online news website.

The truck driver, who initially fled the scene, turned himself in to authorities on Saturday after police launched a manhunt to find him. He will appear in Pongola Magistrate Court on Monday and faces charges of culpable homicide and negligent driving, according to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transportation.

“We extend our deepest condolences, to the families of the deceased,” Sipho Hlomuka, member of the executive council for transport community safety and liaison said in a statement. “We are deeply disturbed by this fatal accident. The death of so many young lives is too painful.”

Following the accident, angry community members torched a truck and threw stones at other vehicles on the N2 route on Friday, according to the department of transportation.

“The police and members of the South African Defense Force are currently monitoring the situation in the area,” said the department in a Facebook post.

A KwaZulu-Natal government delegation is expected to visit the families of the victims and the four affected schools, as well as attend the court proceedings for the truck driver on Monday. The delegation includes representatives from the national Department of Transport, Provincial Government, Road Accident Fund, Road Traffic Management Corporation, South African Police Services and Road Traffic Inspectorate.