Two other schoolgirls, Ovayo Mabe (9) and Anathi Masumpa (10), were also hit by the truck in Nekkies, Knysna. They were lucky to escape with only minor injuries.
Only minutes after the three girls, all Grade 3 and 4 learners at Thembalitsha Primary School in Concordia, left for school, a Kia truck belonging to a local construction company hit them as they crossed the busy Uniondale Road.
Mabe and Masumpa sustained minor injuries, but Jali, who was struck first, suffered serious head injuries and died in a George hospital the following day.
Shortly after the incident, the driver of the vehicle was taken to the Knysna Police Station for his own safety since enraged community members wanted to assault him. No arrest has been made at time of ging to print.
A paramedic at the hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the child was in a coma when she arrived there. Her right leg was broken and she suffered serious bleeding in her brain. "She was the most beautiful little girl," he said. "It is so sad when something such as this happens to a child. It breaks your heart."
"She was a very sweet little girl," said Zinele Jali, the victim's aunt on Saturday, June 7 when Knysna-Plett Herald paid the family a visit. She recalled that on the morning of the accident, her niece said goodbye to her, her mother and her grandmother separately, as she always did, before walking to school with her friends. "She wanted to become a doctor when she grew up," her mother Nophiso Jali said and smiled sadly. Nophiso is a single mother and works as a chef at East Head Café. She also has a son, Yamnkela (6).
Makhwenkwe and Nosiphiwo Mabe, the parents of Ovayo Mabe said that they had mixed feelings about the accident. They are grateful that their daughter survived the accident with only an injured foot and a wound to her face, but they feel very upset about the the death of Jali and sad for their daughter who lost her best friend. "They were inseparable," Makhwenke said. "Last night we tried to tell her very gently about what had happened," he said. "She cried a lot. She's going to miss her very much."
Veronica Martin, principal of Thembalitsha Primary School, was unavailable for comment, but Millicent Merton at the communication directorate of the Western Cape Education Department said that their thoughts and prayers were with the victim's family and friends.
She said that the learners who witnessed the incident received trauma counselling and counsellors were also made available to learners and teachers at the school.
Akhona Jali's funeral will take place on Saturday, June 14 at 08: 00 at the Chris Hani Hall in Nekkies.
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The family of Akhona 'Posqui' Jali (9) are still battling to come to terms with the beloved little girl's death following an accident on JUne 4. From left are the girl's brother Yamnkela (6), mother Nosipho, grandmother Maria, aunt Zanele with her twin-cousins Ayabonga (2) and Amahle (2) Jali.
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