VANDERBIJLPARK – A scholar transport driver charged with the deaths of 14 learners in a horror crash on the Golden Highway has been granted bail despite state opposition.

Ayanda Dludla (23) appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court where he was granted R3 000 bail after initially abandoning his bail application in February.

Dludla faces 14 counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, operating a motor vehicle without a certificate of fitness, driving without a professional driving permit, and operating an unlicensed motor vehicle.

Head-on collision claims 14 young lives

The charges stem from a head-on collision on the R553 Golden Highway on 19 January when the minibus taxi he was driving collided with an oncoming truck. Police say Dludla lost control while trying to overtake other vehicles.

Eleven learners died at the scene that morning. One died in hospital the same day and two more succumbed to their injuries in the days that followed. Three other learners survived with injuries.

The learners, from primary and high schools in the area, were being transported to school around 07:00 when the crash happened on Fred Droste Road in Vanderbijlpark, about 60 km south of Johannesburg.

ALSO READ: Death toll in Vanderbijlpark learner transport accident rises to 13

Charges upgraded from culpable homicide to murder

Dludla was initially arrested and charged with culpable homicide but the National Prosecuting Authority upgraded the charges to murder after reviewing the police docket.

The State opposed bail but the court found it was in the interests of justice to release Dludla under strict conditions.

Strict bail conditions imposed

He must report to Vanderbijlpark Police Station every Friday and is banned from driving any vehicle until the case is finalised. He must live at his mother’s home unless the investigating officer authorises otherwise and may not interfere with witnesses.

The court imposed an unusual condition that if Dludla wishes to apologise to the families of the dead learners, he may only do so through the investigating officer.

The trial is set to run from 9 to 17 November.

ALSO READ: Vaal scholar transport crash: Driver now faces 14 murder charges, abandons bail