/ 7 January 2002

DRIVER OF DEATH TRUCK IN COURT

THE driver of the truck being blamed for 48 deaths near Roossenekal on Sunday appeared at the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, Mpumalanga police said. Captain Malculm Mokomene said the driver was released and would appear again in court on January 24. The truck around 8pm on Sunday was transporting about 120 people — mostly members of the Chego family — down a steep and narrow road when the driver lost control. The vehicle rolled twice down an embankment. Four children were among the dead. A total of 73 people were injured, all of whom were in a stable condition by Wednesday. The dead are to be buried in a village near Groblersdal on Saturday morning. – Sapa