FOURTEEN persons, including several children were yesterday afternoon pulled from the wreck of a minibus which breached a traffic light and toppled several times before ending up in a nearby trench.The accident occurred at the junction of Homestretch and Mandela Avenues. According to Reginald Europe, the driver of the ill-fated minibus, he’d just

left the Sophia Bus Park and was heading east on  Homestretch Avenue on his way to Sophia when the accident occurred.
Europe, who, by the look of things, sustained serious injuries, explained that as he approached the National Cultural Centre, he applied brakes to slow the vehicle down, but realized too late that they were not working.
All he could have done in the circumstances, he said, was to try to head “straight over the road” into D’Urban Backlands, although he’d noticed that the traffic light was already indicating that he needed to yield, so as to give way to traffic proceeding north along Mandela into Sheriff Street.
The young firemen said that as he tried to negotiate his bus across Mandela Avenue, another vehicle, which was heading north on Mandela into Sheriff Street, ended up in his path, causing him to swerve suddenly.
It was at this point, Europe said, that he lost control of the vehicle, known as a “Pit-bull” in layman terms, causing it to go into a roll, toppling several times before coming to rest in a nearby trench, with all its passengers still on board.

As he explained, he could not have done otherwise, as the result would have been more serious than it already is. He also denied allegations that he was speeding at the time of the accident, though his admission that he’d tried to apply brakes even before he reached the National Cultural Centre points to the contrary.
This suspicion was confirmed by one of the injured passengers, who said he never tried to  brake as he claims, not even when he was approaching the junction of Homestretch and Mandela; he still drove at the same breakneck speed he was going all along.
The next thing she knew, the woman said, was that she and her granddaughter and all the other passengers were in a trench.
One man, who gave his name as Desmond, said he was in a Route 48 minibus travelling due north at the time, when he noticed this blue “pit-bull” minibus driving hell for leather along Homestretch, with no apparent intention of ever slowing down, much less stopping.
He said that within a matter of seconds, the bus had shot across the Highway, and toppled several times before landing in the trench. The man said that had it not been for the trench, many lives could have been lost, all because of the driver’s recklessness.
He said that on realizing that the bus was filled with passengers, and that they were trapped, he rushed to their aid, as did many other persons on the scene.
The accident caused many onlookers to voice concern about the safety of ‘Pit-bull’ buses, particularly in light of their poor ventilation among other shortcomings.
Many pointed out that those type of buses only have four windows at the back, and two which are situated at the driver and front passenger’s seat of the vehicle. One man said these should have never been approved by the authorities for use as public transportation since they are only fit for transporting cargo.
One woman said she had serious questions about the safety of the sick and injured since the “pit bull” is widely used as ambulances, especially in the public health sector.