adminThe accident happened at the 244km peg near Kaguvi Vocational Training Centre at about 5pm on Sunday.
Police could not immediately release the names of the deceased, as they were still to notify their next of kin.
They said there were five people, including the driver, in the Datsun 140Y, which was travelling from Gweru to Kwekwe while the other car, a Nissan Elgrand had eight people. No one was injured in the Nissan Elgrand.
The scene of the accident is less than 200m from where the Zupco bus crashed into a stationary truck a few weeks ago and killed 10 people.
Acting police spokesperson for Midlands Assistant Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said both vehicles were coming from church conferences when the accident occurred.
“It is alleged the Nissan Elgrand, which had eight people on board, was coming from a church conference in Harare travelling to Bulawayo while the Datsun 140Y, which had five people in it, was coming from the opposite direction of Gweru. The five people in the Datsun 140Y are said to have been coming from a church service in Gweru,” said Asst Insp Mahoko.
“The Nissan Elgrand was part of a convoy of six cars that was going towards Gweru. When the Nissan Elgrand got to the 244km peg, it tried to overtake a car that was ahead of it at a time when there was the Datsun 140Y approaching from the opposite direction.”
Asst Insp Mahoko said the driver of the Datsun 140Y realised that an accident was imminent and swerved to the extreme left side of the road in a bid to avoid a head-on collision.
He said in the process of trying to avoid a head-on, the driver could have probably realised that his car was going far off the road and over-steered it back resulting in the car getting back into the lane that it had initially left.
“This resulted in the Nissan Elgrand hitting the Datsun 140Y and both vehicles landed on the left side of the road, facing the Gweru direction. Three people out of the five who were in the Datsun car died on the spot while two were injured, one of them critically. The injured were taken to Gweru Provincial Hospital while both cars were towed to the Gweru depot of the Vehicle Inspection Department for an assessment,” said Asst Insp Mahoko.
He said it was worrying that Zimbabwe continued to lose lives in road traffic accidents in a manner that could be avoided if all motorists and road users exercised due care.
“This accident happened just after we had another fatal road accident where a Zupco bus killed 10 people along the same stretch of the road. It is worrying that we continue to lose lives in accidents that can be avoided,” said Asst Insp Mahoko.
“We take this opportunity to appeal to motorists to bear in mind that they have a responsibility of desisting to place people’s lives in danger through disregarding road rules and regulations provided by the Road Traffic Act. They should adhere to basic things like travelling at safe speed according to the prevailing circumstances as well as keeping a proper lookout on the road in front and its environs.”
Colletta Dube