Pretoria - A Saturday afternoon walk by a teenager with her then two-year-old nephew and two friends turned into tragedy after the teenager got hit by a train when she tried to rescue the child, who ran towards the tracks.
The teenager, only identified by her first name Zanele, so as not to identify her underage nephew, was killed while the toddler was seriously injured.
The mother of the boy, identified as S in a Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, judgment, turned to the court to claim damages from Transnet.
The tragedy could have been avoided and the goods train would not have hit her sister – the 17-year-old – and her child if there were adequate fencing to prevent pedestrians from gaining access to the tracks, she said.
There was also no signage warning the public of the danger of trains passing, she said. But her main contention was the train driver did not apply brakes in time to avoid hitting her child and sister.
Transnet said it erected both fencing and signage posts from time to time, but these got vandalised.
It also argued that should it be found negligent, the court should also contribute some negligence towards the mother of S, as she should not have left him in the care of his teenage aunt.
The child suffered serious injuries when he was hit by the train while his aunt was hailed as a hero for sacrificing her own life to save him. The mother, who lives in Phomolong, Mamelodi, was visiting friends and family on April 18, 2009, at an informal settlement between Greenview and Pienaar Stations. Zanele was trying to catch the child who was running towards the track. Sadly, they were both struck by the train. Zanele was instantly killed.
The driver testified he saw three teenagers crossing the tracks, with one holding the hand of the boy.
The driver blew his horn until the party had cleared the rails. At a point the child turned back and began running in the direction of the train. The driver said he again blew his horn and applied the emergency brakes.
Zanele ran after the boy but both tripped and landed under the train.
Transnet erected a fence in 1984, but by 1990 it had been stolen. The court found the driver negligent as he sped and failed to apply his brakes in time.
“Trains have a right of way, but reasonable measures must still be put in place to avoid harm.”
Pretoria News