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RECKLESS driving by an underage kombi driver who attempted to beat a police roadblock nearly claimed the lives of 17 passengers in Bulawayo on Wednesday. The 23-year-old driver swerved to avoid police spikes and the kombi overturned injuring 16 passengers, four of them seriously.
According to the police version, the driver was intercepted at Nguboyenja flyover along the City-Luveve Road and he made a U-turn. He then drove into Old Khami Road only to find another police roadblock.
“The spikes were laid on the road and when the driver tried to avoid them, he lost control of the vehicle resulting in it overturning and landing on its side,” said police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo.
Passengers who were on the kombi, however, have a different story regarding the events leading to the accident. According to passengers, one of the police officers threw spikes when the driver ignored their signal to stop. The driver in an attempt to avoid the spikes, lost control of the vehicle and it overturned. After the accident, angry motorists and passersby pelted the police officers with stones.
Anti-riot police had to be called in to restore calm at the scene of the accident as the injured were being ferried to hospital.
The kombi driver is largely to blame for the accident which nearly cost his passengers their lives. It is such reckless drivers that should not be allowed on our roads. The big question after the nearly fatal accident is — were the spikes laid on the road as said by Insp Moyo or they were thrown at the kombi full of passengers as claimed by passengers?
Spike strips also known as stingers are used by police officers worldwide to immobilise vehicles by puncturing tyres. The spikes are therefore part of the police tools used to control errant motorists intending to beat roadblocks. What, however, is objectionable is to endanger the lives of passengers by throwing spikes at public vehicles such as kombis. If it is true that the police officer at the roadblock along Old Khami Road threw spikes at the kombi which was full of passengers, the officer committed a serious error of judgment.
The police officers, we want to believe, always strive to protect lives and will therefore do all within their powers to avoid endangering the lives of members of the public. Travellers therefore look forward to police taming the traffic jungle but in so doing should avoid putting the lives of the travellers in danger. The anger of motorists and passersby who witnessed the Wednesday accident while understandable, is no excuse for individuals to take the law into their hands.
The pelting of police officers with stones was unwarranted and should not be condoned. This was outright anarchy which must be avoided at all costs. Those that pelted the police officers with stones should be brought to book.
We want at this juncture to implore the police to leave no stone unturned in their search for the culprits who instead of assisting the injured decided to engage in mob justice which should not have a place in our society. The police, as already stated, should avoid putting the lives of passengers at risk by acting irrationally such as throwing spikes on vehicles full of passengers. We want to also appeal to drivers of public transport vehicles to adhere to traffic rules and regulation in order to avoid putting their passengers’ lives at risk.
Online Reporter