Batavia School of Skills is in mourning after a pupil, Phawolothando Tofane, 15, of Khayelitsha, died after being hit by two cars in Claremont on Tuesday afternoon.
The teenager was knocked down at the intersection of Imam Haron and Hamilton roads, according to ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring.
“ER24 medics and Western Cape Fire Services arrived at the scene around 2.50pm to find the boy lying in the middle of the road,” he said.
“Unfortunately, despite the medics’ best efforts, the boy succumbed to his injuries.”
Phawolothando was declared dead at the scene.
“The reason for his death was internal and head injuries sustained during the collision,” said Claremont police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Marnus Fourie.
The driver of the grey Land Rover Discovery that hit Phawolothando had told police that the teen had “come from nowhere”, he said.
“She collided into him and flung him onto a white Opel Corsa, which was driving from the opposite side of the road.”
Members of the SAPS Flying Squad Collision Unit had attended the scene and would reconstruct it as part of their investigation, he said.
The boy’s parents and school staff had gone for counselling, he said.
School principal Selna Thiart said the school community was in mourning over the loss of Phawolothando, or “Thando“, as he was known at school.
“He was always neat, well dressed and a polite young boy who was encouraging towards his classmates and always smiling,” she said.
He had enjoyed drawing, playing soccer and spoke about wrestling at every opportunity.
In July, the City of Cape Town installed traffic lights on the corner of Laurier Street and Imam Haron Road, near the school entrance (“Traffic lights make busy road safer for pupils,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, August 5)
The intersection where Phawolothando was knocked over is 50 metres away from the newly installed traffic lights.
Claremont police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
