Matric crash driver unlicensed

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Cape Town - The matric student who was behind the wheel of the car when it smashed into a bus - killing him and two pals - did not have a driver’s licence.

And Cape Town Transport Minister Robin Carlisle confirmed that the driver of the Golden Arrow bus involved in the horrific crash has an “unblemished” record.

“Yes, that is true [that Keenan had no driver’s licence],” Carlisle told the Daily Voice.

“There is no doubt... these youngsters came across a red light and the bus driver didn’t have a choice. The bus driver’s record is unblemished so far.”

Keenan Smith, of Strandfontein, had changed driving seats with his friend, Nazan Klaasens, 20, who had borrowed his mother’s white Toyota Corolla after a night out in the city.

Keenan and his two friends - Leigh Anne Swail, 18, and young mom Kelly-Jade Ford, 18, all Mondale High School matriculants - were crushed to death in the horrific collision in the early hours of Saturday, November 24, between Church Way and Spine Road, Strandfontein, .

The bus driver will now be cleared of culpable homicide charges.

“According to SAPS, from what we have been told verbally, the driver is going to be cleared and Keenan was not in possession of a valid licence,” a source says.

Legal experts also say it’s highly unlikely Nazan will face any charges.

“There is no way the licence holder can be charged for the accident - I mean, it’s not like he even had his hands on the wheel,” said well-known attorney William Booth.

“Even if Nazan was awake, Keenan was the driver so Nazan can’t be prosecuted for anything because it’s not his fault. It’s like a barman seeing a drunk man leave the bar and enter his car.”

Meanwhile, Golden Arrow have confirmed the bus driver involved in the crash is still in a “state of shock”.

Spokesperson Bronwen Dyke also hit out at claims made on social networking sites over the past week that he is to blame for the tragedy.

“The bus driver is also struggling to come to terms with what happened and does not deserve the contempt that is being directed towards him,” Dyke told the Daily Voice.

“From what I see online, a large number of people have been... laying blame at Golden Arrow’s door and there is a lot of misinformation out there.”

Keenan and Kelly were laid to rest over the weekend. Keenan’s devastated family were not available to comment.
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http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/matric-crash-driver-unlicensed-1.1434673#.ULzWTWdXn8k
 
The license holder should be held accountable for handing over the keys to a non licensed driver.
 
marco79 said:
The license holder should be held accountable for handing over the keys to a non licensed driver.
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Given he was aware that the friend was unlicensed.

Seeing as the Toyota ran the red, it was not the bus drives fault. Anyone who has driven a large or heavily loaded vehicle knows that it is not easy to stop or make an emergency manoeuvre.
 
Eish, for the bus driver, this whole situation is just not "fare".

Unfortunately from this tragedy, there will always be someone chomping at the bit to get compensation, but I am not sympathetic to the fact that this laaitie was joy riding "after a night out on the town".
 
This happened near me and I knew the one girl, although only meeting her briefly she was a bright child :). RIP.
 
marco79 said:
The license holder should be held accountable for handing over the keys to a non licensed driver.
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was she even aware he took the car ?
on many occasion i snuck off with one of my parents cars without either their knowledge or consent.
more than that, i am certain i am not the only one in this community who is guilty of that particular "crime".
 
Well we've all been young and stupid at some point. I've taken my mom's car to go and take out chicks when I was 17 or so.. with just a learners. Unfortunately it had to end this way for that group. Sad story.
 
License no license does not make them any less dead or the situation any less tragic. We should stop trying to portian blame but remeber 3 families & and entire school lives has changed due to the decision made that night. The best we can hope for is that all teenagers learn from this & don't repeat this huge miss step.

I personally don't know these youths although they are from my immediate surrounding neighbourhood. As a father of 2 teenagers I will use this as a "boogie man" story to warn my teenage girls
 
If you're dumb enough to go driving with someone who's unlicensed, you deserve to get Darwin'd out of the gene pool. Stupid that the license-holder can't be charged for what is obviously his fault.
 
The_Assimilator said:
If you're dumb enough to go driving with someone who's unlicensed, you deserve to get Darwin'd out of the gene pool. Stupid that the license-holder can't be charged for what is obviously his fault.
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I'm sorry - but how can it be his fault?

Regardless whether the other driver had a license or not - he still would have skipped that red light. Having a drivers license doesn't make all drivers more responsible on the road.

He skipped the light due to being a stupid moron - not due to having no license.
 
For me what is sad is that there is a child who has lost their mom - Kelly-Jade Ford at 18 was a mother - tragic.
 
Tander said:
I'm sorry - but how can it be his fault?

Regardless whether the other driver had a license or not - he still would have skipped that red light. Having a drivers license doesn't make all drivers more responsible on the road.

He skipped the light due to being a stupid moron - not due to having no license.
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It's not Klaasen's fault that the red light was skipped. It is, however, his fault that he knowingly allowed an unlicensed person to drive his car. I can't see why that doesn't make him indirectly culpable for the deaths.
 
Senseless, this is. Can only hope that others will learn from this. The responsibility behind the wheel is enormous. The consequences of our actions huge.

In a forum I am involved in, we are looking to get something of the ground wherein road safety education and defensive driving begins as early as possible in schools. While it might not have prevent this disaster, the more who learn the message the better.

Meanwhile, Golden Arrow have confirmed the bus driver involved in the crash is still in a “state of shock”.

Spokesperson Bronwen Dyke also hit out at claims made on social networking sites over the past week that he is to blame for the tragedy.

“The bus driver is also struggling to come to terms with what happened and does not deserve the contempt that is being directed towards him,” Dyke told the Daily Voice.
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The poor driver of the bus. I feel for the driver. I would never ever want to go through this.
 
It doesn't make him responsible. The driver did not skip the light due to no license. He did it due to being a complete moron.
Had he had a driver's license, he would still be as dead as he is now. It made zero difference in this situation.

Klaassen was irresponsible for trusting a person to drive who had no license. But, that was not the cause of the accident. Therefore, he cannot be held liable in any way, shape or form. He will, however live the rest of his life, knowing, he could have changed the situation.
 
amazing the mis-informaiton around this. when this broke they were coming from extra lessons at school and the bus driver jumped the robot. i only wish the people would take the gruesome pics from their social media profiles.
 
If you want to charge the licensed driver for giving the keys to the unlicensed driver that logic would mean you'd then have to charge the mother for giving it in the first place then the dealership for selling it to the mother... don't forget Toyota for importing it.

Stupid is as stupid does... we were all stupid and young. Its so very sad that these kids had to lose their lives before they could obtain the little wisdom we gain when we become adults. Could have been any of us at that age.
 
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