Advocate Myron Dewrance, experts to probe Moloto Road accident

Pretoria – Advocate Myron Dewrance from Pretoria will lead the team investigating the recent Moloto Road bus accident which left six burnt to death and several hospitalised.

Making the announcement yesterday, Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the advocate’s team would include fire investigation experts who would conduct their investigation for 30 days, interviewing witnesses and others affected by the incident.

“The investigation will focus on the cause of the fire and determine whether there was negligence on the part of the bus company which is contracted to the department. The team will also determine whether Putco is liable in terms of its contractual obligations,” Mamabolo said.

The accident on the “road of death” happened on May 21, with the bus bursting into flames, and firefighters having to pull the charred remains of the dead from the wreck.

Communities in the area have come out to protest against the high accident rate and lack of safety on the road, saying they felt ignored by the government, as the road, which carried commuters from and to Mpumalanga and Limpopo to and from Pretoria, had not been upgraded.

Both the bus company and department promised to investigate the recent accident, with Putco saying their buses were serviced regularly. Putco spokesperson Matlakala Motloung said their buses had scheduled maintenance programmes.

He said the safety of the vehicles and passengers was of paramount importance to Putco management which had in recent years been experiencing difficulties in recapitalising its bus fleets due to the lack of long-term contracts from the government.

Mamabolo said yesterday: “Advocate Dewrance and his team have a critical task of getting the real facts and determining if there was negligence on the part of Putco. This is important in giving the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, as well as those injured, the truth of what happened so that they can have closure and heal from this tragedy.”

Pretoria News