Horrific dashcam video shows a 55-tonne truck crashing head-on into a school van, killing 18 children, as the South African truck driver ‘with a cash bonus for the number of deliveries per day’ overtook 15 vehicles

Harrowing video shows the horrific moment a 55-tonne truck rammed into the front of a car carrying 18 schoolchildren, killing all occupants, after ending up on the wrong side of the road in South Africa.

In a case that shocked the nation, dashcam footage from the truck’s cab shows the huge vehicle careening down the wrong side of the road as oncoming traffic swerved out of the way.

The truck, carrying as much as 34 tonnes of coal, overtakes 15 vehicles before crashing into a much smaller Toyota Station Wagon at more than 100km/h.

School driver Lethukuthula Nkonyane, 19, and passenger school teacher Zinhle Mkhize, 28, were killed instantly when the 55-tonne truck rammed into them.

Eighteen schoolchildren aged between five and 12 were killed when the truck dragged the car about 220 meters onto the road.

Driver Sibusiso Siyaya, 28, was today convicted of 20 murder charges following the horror crash in KwaZulu Natal in 2022, and will be sentenced on Wednesday.

Siyaya caused outrage across the country and was set to receive a cash bonus for the number of loads he could deliver in a day, and for his sixteenth consecutive shift.

Two years after the horror accident in Pongola, the driver is finally being tried for murder, reckless and negligent driving and fleeing the scene of the accident.

The court heard how the driver even removed his number plates from his Oaf truck so road cameras could not get evidence of him breaking speed limits along the way.

He was said to be motivated by making money and was seen in the clip speeding away from the scene of the accident after being rammed into the car on the N2 road to Gordons Bay.

At the top of the Itshelejuba Pass, all trucks are ordered by law to come to a complete stop and engage their lowest gear before setting off on the other side of the busy road to the coast.

But video showed Siyaya, from the village of Jozini in KZN province, driving straight over the edge of the hill and when confronted by a line of slow traffic, he simply swerved over the double white lines.

Footage shows he increased his speed to over 60mph on the wrong side of the road, forcing oncoming traffic to swerve to avoid a collision.

He can be seen illegally overtaking 15 vehicles, including eight heavy double coal trucks, similar to his in the 38-second clip.

The truck driver’s luck ran out 26 seconds into the video when he crashed into the Toyota station wagon driving towards him on the right side of the road.

Eighteen schoolchildren on their way home from class, along with the driver and passenger, were horrifically killed when their vehicle was driven under the front of the truck and pushed 700 feet back along the main road.

The truck carrying heavily loaded double side-loading coal wagons manages to swerve back to the right side of the road, but the station wagon is still stuck underneath in a shower of sparks.

The truck is then seen driving off the road before the driver and a woman who was in the taxi with him got out and ran away.

The runaway driver turned himself in and was arrested by police the next day. Siyaya has been inside guardianship since September 2022.

He tried to claim that his brakes failed and that he fled because he feared he would be summarily killed by locals.

But crash investigators found the brakes worked and GPS tracking and the dashcam proved he was in control of the truck during the fatal 0.7-mile downhill journey.

Summing up the case, Judge Garth Davis said the evidence showed he drove at a high rate of speed on the wrong side of the road, forcing other vehicles to swerve for their lives.

Only one student survived the impact, but later died in hospital.

Some 42 witnesses were expected to testify during the intensive trial, which Siyaya attended earlier pleaded not guilty.

The Pongola High Court was told that the schoolchildren who died were aged between 5 and 12, locals said mediaand that a mother had lost three of her children in the accident and several others had lost two children while being transported home.

Judge Davis said: ‘The evidence shows that during the descent you had a steady hand and had full control of the car and swung into the other lane in the traffic jam.

‘You crossed the double white lane and for 1.2km there was no visible attempt to return to the correct lane and at a speed of up to 105km/h you then collided with the LDV.

‘During the descent you see numerous vehicles quickly swerve or enter the emergency lane to avoid the truck and a head-on collision until the fatal crash.

‘There was nothing mechanically wrong with the truck and you had made a clear, voluntary decision to cross the double white line to avoid congestion and then drive at dangerous speeds.

“You never attempted to return to the lane and fled the scene after the accident without rendering any assistance or reporting the accident to the police,” he said.

Finding Siyaya guilty of murder, he added: ‘The video shows a level of dangerous driving that may be unprecedented and the consequences of your actions were clearly of no concern to you.

“Your actions went beyond conscious negligence,” he told the truck driver who convicted him of 20 murders, one for reckless driving and one for failing to report the accident.

The court was told that Siyaya was employed as a heavy driver by BaoBao Projects and that, according to evidence given at trial, he received generous bonuses for delivering more loads.

The court was adjourned until today as family and friends of the 18 students who died on their way home to Pongola from four local schools broke down in tears and consoled each other.

A mass funeral was held in the grieving city in September 2022, attended by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, Police Minister Bheki Cele and Education Minister Dr. Reginah Mhaule.