When little Andrew Pikaan appeared hesitant to go to school on the morning of August 24 2011, his grandmother coaxed him onto the school bus by handing him a R1 coin.
Hours later, after the horror crash, Andrew, 7, was found at the hospital, still clutching tightly to that same coin.
He had held onto his R1 as the bus rolled and then plummeted into the water.
The last child to be rescued from the bus, Andrew was one of the lucky few to survive, though his eyesight has been affected — he struggles to look at the screens of TVs and computers.
His grandmother, Riana Moolman, 58, said when she had arrived at the hospital where all the survivors were being treated, she had imagined the worst.
“I could not help but cry when I saw he was OK,” she said.
Andrew, now 17, had tried his utmost to skip school the morning of the tragedy in Rheenendal.
He had complained to his grandmother that it was too cold as it had been raining and windy the previous night.
“On that morning, he took so long to get dressed. So, as any granny would, I looked for something to cheer him up.
“I had a single R1 in my purse and I gave it to him to carry to school,” she said.
“I walked him to the bus stop and wished him a lovely day at school. I then went back home.”
Ten minutes later, she was alerted that the bus had crashed.
“When I got to the hospital he had just come from the doctor.
‘I don’t know what we’ll do’: I gave him a tight hug but he would not unclench his fist.
“I thought that he was hurt but when I opened his small hands, there was the R1 I had given him.
“I could not help but cry,” she said.
The story of a little boy and his R1 coin
Garden Route reporter
Image: WERNER HILLS
When little Andrew Pikaan appeared hesitant to go to school on the morning of August 24 2011, his grandmother coaxed him onto the school bus by handing him a R1 coin.
Hours later, after the horror crash, Andrew, 7, was found at the hospital, still clutching tightly to that same coin.
He had held onto his R1 as the bus rolled and then plummeted into the water.
The last child to be rescued from the bus, Andrew was one of the lucky few to survive, though his eyesight has been affected — he struggles to look at the screens of TVs and computers.
His grandmother, Riana Moolman, 58, said when she had arrived at the hospital where all the survivors were being treated, she had imagined the worst.
“I could not help but cry when I saw he was OK,” she said.
Andrew, now 17, had tried his utmost to skip school the morning of the tragedy in Rheenendal.
He had complained to his grandmother that it was too cold as it had been raining and windy the previous night.
“On that morning, he took so long to get dressed. So, as any granny would, I looked for something to cheer him up.
“I had a single R1 in my purse and I gave it to him to carry to school,” she said.
“I walked him to the bus stop and wished him a lovely day at school. I then went back home.”
Ten minutes later, she was alerted that the bus had crashed.
“When I got to the hospital he had just come from the doctor.
‘I don’t know what we’ll do’: I gave him a tight hug but he would not unclench his fist.
“I thought that he was hurt but when I opened his small hands, there was the R1 I had given him.
“I could not help but cry,” she said.
Image: WERNER HILLS
“Perhaps if he had not gone to school he would have never damaged his eyes or developed a deep fear of the school bus.
“Our children were deeply traumatised by that accident and I often wonder how the others are doing.”
She said they had received some counselling but as the years passed, all offers of help stopped.
Andrew said he had been the last to be pulled out of the wreckage.
He recalls how he had watched, without hope, as his peers were saved one after the other.
“I was the last person that they saved ... I did not think I would have made it out.”
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
News
News
News
News
News