2 die in road accidents

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent

A BEITBRIDGE motorist died on the spot after a head on collision between his vehicle and a truck while a Gokwe man died after a vehicle he was travelling in overturned in separate accidents that occurred in Matabeleland South Province.

Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the first accident which occurred at around 5AM near Jopembe area in Beitbridge along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road and the other which occurred at around 12 PM in Esigodini.

Both accidents occurred on Tuesday.

“The first incident occurred at around 5AM near Jopempe area at the 257 kilometre peg along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road. The now deceased Takura Mahembe was driving a Toyota Corolla vehicle towards Bulawayo when he came across an eight tonne truck that was coming from the opposite direction.

“The driver of the truck saw a donkey in his lane and swerved towards the right and encroached onto the lane of oncoming traffic. This resulted in a head collision between the truck and the Toyota Corolla and Mahembe died on the spot while the truck driver escaped unharmed,” he said.

Chief Inspector Ndebele said in the second incident Felix Taundi who works at Fortex Mine in Esigodini, was driving a company vehicle along Esikhoveni Road in Esigodini with three passengers on board. He said at the eight kilometre peg Taundi lost control of the vehicle which veered off the road and rolled once.

Chief Inspector Ndebele said Wellington Mlilo from Gokwe died on the spot while the other two passengers sustained injuries. He said the injured were referred to Esigodini District Hospital where they were treated and discharged.

“We urge motorists to exercise caution and to adhere to road regulations. It’s also important for drivers to travel at a safe speed so they are able to react on time if an accident seems imminent. In this case if the truck driver had been travelling at a safe speed he could have seen the donkey on time and applied his brakes instead of encroaching onto the lane of oncoming vehicles,” Chief Inspector Ndebele said. — @DubeMatutu.