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The police had to intervene to stop the community from assaulting the driver, who many believed had been speeding.
The three girls, aged between nine and ten, were all hospitalised. Two are stable with minor bruises at the Knysna Provincial Hospital, while the third, aged nine, was in a critical condition and transported to George shortly after the incident. According to the police report, it is believed that the girls, all learners at Thembalitsha Primary School, were on their way to school when they crossed the road and was hit by a Kia truck.
A motorist of Diepwalle, who drove past the scene, said that the position of the girls' tiny bodies and the amount of blood made him fear the worst.
"I'm incredibly grateful to hear that they survived. It was a horrific sight to see. I'm well aware of these trucks, often driving at high speed and in a great hurry, usually with an open back and transporting labourers," he said.
Another eyewitness, Nosipho Kote (23), who lives close to where the children got run over, said she heard the impact from her home.
"The people wanted to beat up the driver, so the police had to come and stop them," she said.
The Knysna Police opened a case of reckless and negligent driving and removed the driver to the Knysna Police station for his own safety.
Thembalitsha school principal, Veronice Martin, refused to come out of her office to provide information regarding the tragic incident and the girls. She instructed her secretary to refer the Knysna-Plett Herald to the Western Cape Education Department. Investigation continues.
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Nosipho Kote points to the large bloodstain in Uniondale Road, Nekkies, where one of three little girls who had been run over by a truck, lay as if dead.
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