Child, schoolboy die in crash

A Grens High School pupil and a young child died, and 14 people, most of them schoolboy cricketers aged 15 to 17, were injured in a smash on the R72 near Kidds Beach at 2pm yesterday. One schoolboy was airlifted to hospital and others rushed there in ambulances during a major response by emergency services and other authorities. By last night, eight schoolboys were still in hospital. Traffic authorities said the driver of a car, which turned in front of the school minibus, was arrested for alleged drunken driving. The minibus, which was driven by a teacher, was carrying 13 cricket players who were returning from playing in Uitenhage, Grens school governing body chairman Garth Cerff said. After being hit by the car, the Quantum minibus careened off the R72 through a road barrier and down an embankment before colliding side-on with the thick trunk of a tree. This was according to officials, school leaders and reporters at the scene. At 3.30pm, the car wreck was still at the scene where it had come to a standstill on the wrong side of the road.