Late yesterday afternoon as the Johannesburg traffic was at its worst a Putco bus lost control and careened into the wall of Kitty Shelter which is situated on the corner of Jan Smuts avenue in Rosebank. Anyone who know the area will know how much traffic would have been gathered at that time in that area.
Initially we were furious and suspected the driver of gross negligence and speeding but after gathering statements and pictures and various evidence it turns out that the driver should in fact be commended.
He has been experiencing problem with his bus's braking system for a long time and had reported this on numerous occasions to his employer. He was ignored.
Yesterday he felt that his bus had become very dangerous and uncontrollable and so he stopped at each bus stop and advised the passengers that he could not pick them up and they should wait for the next bus. He was then on his way back to the depot when the vehicle became completely out of control and he consciously crashed into the yellow crash barrier to try to break his speed but it didn't help much. He then says he saw all the cars with people ahead of him and decided to rather crash into the wall in an attempt not to kill anyone.
Thank goodness no animals were harmed but the wall is destroyed, the puppy boarding area is obliterated and the animals were in terrible shock hiding away in a corner of the property. The driver is ok but has several broken bones. This is horrific for the shelter but at the end of the day he did save numerous lives by making the best possible decision in a very bad situation.
We are now deciding on what action to take against Putco. Imagine if this bus had killed children or innocent road users on their way home after a long day at the office???
It is unacceptable and disgusting on so many levels that this company did not take note of their drivers plea for assistance but chose instead to leave the bus running so they could continue collecting daily fare.
Shocking!
In the interim we are appealing to any and everyone who may be able to help either with donations or skills or anything.
Our website address with our details is: www.kittyshelter.co.za
6 comments:
Oh my gosh! What a horrific story. Poor animals. I'm so glad there were no animals harmed. Poor driver too. What a responsible person. And unfortunately one hears of this happening so often these days. I hope the shelter can get everything sorted out as soon as possible.
That is so sad. I'll go over and donate ...
Hi JC thanks so much! I thought you were overseas and not in SA?
Oh my gosh. That's horrible, but I'm glad none of the animals were hurt. Great job by the bus driver. Is the rest of the building stable enough, or will you have to move the animals elsewehere?
Oh my goodness! Thank heavens no one was badly injured. Is the shelter still usable?
My heart stopped when I saw this photo. Very scary.
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