TRAGEDY: 5 family members killed in deadly road accident
FIVE members of the same family died while two others were seriously injured when a vehicle they were travelling in burst a front tyre, overturned and rolled several times before landing on its roof in Esigodini over the weekend.
The identities of the deceased and injured are being withheld as police are yet to contact their next of kin.
Three of the victims died on the spot while the other two are said to have died on admission to United Bulawayo Hospitals.
The two survivors are said to be in a critical condition.
The accident occurred at about 5pm on Saturday.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the accident yesterday.
“I can confirm that we received sad news of an accident which occurred in Esigodini on Saturday and some lives were lost. However at this point I cannot give further details as I am not in office,” said Inspector Ndebele.
A source said the accident occurred at a place known as Benita, 500 metres from Esigodini bus stop on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge road.
Rescue workers clean up the crash site where the driver of a Toyota Hilux (above) died on the spot while two passengers were seriously injured when he tried to overtake a bus on a bridge along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road in Kensington on Saturday
Rescue workers clean up the crash site where the driver of a Toyota Hilux (above) died on the spot while two passengers were seriously injured when he tried to overtake a bus on a bridge along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road in Kensington on Saturday
The vehicle was heading for Mawabeni in Umzingwane district, about 75km from Bulawayo.
Witnesses said the driver failed to control the vehicle following a front tyre burst.
He allegedly swayed to the left in an attempt to avoid oncoming traffic. The vehicle allegedly flew into the air before it landed on its roof and rolled several times.
“I am a vendor at Esigodini Vegetable produce market and late yesterday afternoon we heard screams from people saying there was an accident.
“We got there and found that a Toyota Regius was lying on its side. It was a bloody scene and we could not help those that were trapped inside,” said a vendor.
Another witness who spoke to The Chronicle, Ms Mandy Malaba said the injured were rushed by ambulance to the United Bulawayo Hospitals.
“When the ambulance crew arrived, we helped them to pull out the injured from the wreckage,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a separate accident, one person died on the spot while two others were seriously injured when a Toyota Hilux they were travelling in side-swiped a White Horse bus while attempting to overtake the luxury coach on a bridge in Kensington suburb along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway on Saturday afternoon.
The driver of the Toyota Hilux died on the spot while two of his passengers were seriously injured. They were rushed to UBH where they are admitted.
The deceased’s name could not be established last night.
Last Tuesday night, ten people died while one sustained serious injuries in a head-on collision involving a Chinhoyi-bound Nissan Caravan and a haulage truck in Mapinga along the Harare-Chirundu Highway.
Mapinga is near the Great Dyke Pass.
The accident occurred at around 10PM at the 60-kilometre peg where the ascent into the Great Dyke Pass begins.
The driver of the Nissan Caravan allegedly encroached onto the lane of the oncoming haulage truck.
– Chronicle
