adminHarare Bureau
TEN people were killed and five seriously injured when a commuter omnibus rammed into a tree just after Koala Park along Seke Road in Chitungwiza yesterday morning.Three of the dead survived the initial impact but later died upon admission in hospital.
Of the five injured, four were yesterday admitted at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals while the fifth was at Avenues Clinic. They were all reported to be in critical condition.
The driver of the kombi, only identified as Masiwa of Zengeza 4, also died on the spot and police have attributed the cause of the accident to speeding.
Seven of the dead were at Chitungwiza Central Hospital mortuary.
Police were yesterday still trying to ascertain the names of the dead since most of them did not have identification particulars.
The accident occurred around 11AM.
Masiwa was driving a Toyota Hiace and heading towards Chitungwiza from the city centre. Witness Costa Hodzi said he was coming from a nearby field when he saw the speeding commuter omnibus.
“It veered off the road and the driver tried to control it. It was coming straight at me but there were some trees in-between. I ran back towards the field and then heard a huge bang and when I looked back, I discovered that the kombi had hit a tree,” he said.
Hodzi said he ran to the crash site to assist the injured. A few minutes later some motorists pulled over to assist.
The kombi was a mangled wreck.
Police National Traffic (operations) Assistant Commissioner Shelton Dube said the kombi driver tried to overtake another vehicle but lost control.
“We would want to urge motorists particularly kombi drivers to respect human life and observe the rules and regulations when travelling on the roads. This accident could have been avoided if the driver was not speeding,” he said.
He said the area was a black spot with a high number of accidents recorded this year.
Online Reporter