Blackheath level crossing accident
Encyclopedia
The Blackheath train accident occurred at 7:03 a.m. on 25 August 2010 when a Metrorail commuter train crashed into a minibus taxi on the Buttskop Road level crossing
in Blackheath, a suburb of Cape Town
, South Africa
. The minibus was carrying fourteen children to school; nine died on the scene and five were hospitalized. One of the injured children died two days later in the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital
. The minibus driver was also hospitalized; there were no injuries aboard the train.
An initial investigation by the Railway Safety Regulator determined that the lights
and booms
at the crossing were in full working order. Witnesses stated that the minibus drove around a queue of stopped cars and past the closed half-booms blocking the crossing. The driver was arrested upon being released from hospital and charged with ten counts of culpable homicide
; he was initially held in custody but was later released on bail. the case is underway, having been postponed to 18 March 2011 to allow for further investigation.
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
in Blackheath, a suburb of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The minibus was carrying fourteen children to school; nine died on the scene and five were hospitalized. One of the injured children died two days later in the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital
Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital
Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa was opened in 1956 through public subscription as a memorial to soldiers lost in the Second World War. The suggestion that the memorial take the form of a children's hospital was proposed by Vyvyan U.T. Watson...
. The minibus driver was also hospitalized; there were no injuries aboard the train.
An initial investigation by the Railway Safety Regulator determined that the lights
Grade crossing signals
Grade Crossing Signals are the warning devices for road vehicles at railroad grade crossings. The basic signal consists of two sets of flashing red lights, one on the front and one on the back, a sign that says Railroad Crossing, and a bell. At crossings that typically get trains going at about...
and booms
Boom barrier
A boom barrier is a bar, or pole pivoted in such a way as to allow the boom to block vehicular access through a controlled point. Typically the tip of a boom gate rises in a vertical arc to a near vertical position. Boom gates are often counterweighted, so the pole is easily tipped...
at the crossing were in full working order. Witnesses stated that the minibus drove around a queue of stopped cars and past the closed half-booms blocking the crossing. The driver was arrested upon being released from hospital and charged with ten counts of culpable homicide
Culpable homicide
Culpable homicide is a specific offence in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular jurisdiction has defined the offence...
; he was initially held in custody but was later released on bail. the case is underway, having been postponed to 18 March 2011 to allow for further investigation.