Passerby killed as cars collide
By Pamela Shumba
Five people were injured yesterday when a Bulawayo-bound Extra City Bus from Victoria Falls veered off the road and overturned while a pedestrian died in Bulawayo when two cars collided at an intersection near Konron shopping centre.
The bus landed on its side at the 40km peg before Hwange at about 10AM, an hour after it left Victoria Falls.
Passengers said the accident occurred after the bus driver tried to avoid an oncoming haulage truck.
“This stretch of the road is bumpy and too narrow such that buses and big trucks find it difficult to make way for each other or overtake.
“Fortunately no one died in the accident but five people were injured and rushed to Hwange District Hospital,” said Nosipho Ncube from Victoria Falls, one of the passengers.
Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson Inspector Siphiwe Makonese yesterday said she had not received the report.
In Bulawayo, a man believed to be in his 60s died on the spot after two vehicles collided and one of them hit him as he was walking by the roadside.
When The Chronicle arrived at the scene yesterday, the man’s body and the vehicles had been removed.
Witnesses said one of the drivers failed to give way resulting in the accident.
“The man was crossing the road with a young relative when the accident occurred. The driver of the Mazda Familia failed to give way to the Toyota Noah, which was heading to town.
“The two cars collided resulting in the Toyota Noah hitting the man, who was thrown to the roadside and died instantly,” said a vendor who declined to be named.
Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, The Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) – a private organisation representing the interests of commuters – is lobbying for an increase in compensation to accident victims to match rising medical costs.
The Insurance Council of Zimbabwe recently took “the bold initiative” to upwardly adjust statutory limits for medical expenses to $1 000 from $350, and compensation for death to $3 000 from $2 000. PAZ says it is not enough.
The annual insurance premium remains at $12 per passenger.
PAZ president Mr Tafadzwa Goliath said the statutory limit for medical expenses and death should be pegged at $6 000 and $5 000.
The call by PAZ comes after an accident involving two buses near the Rusape tollgate killed 50 people and left several injured on Wednesday night last week.
National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said preliminary investigations showed that the driver of the Smart Express bus, who was coming from Mutare, overtook a haulage truck and a Toyota Wish vehicle in a prohibited zone.
She said in the middle of overtaking, the driver saw an oncoming bus and tried to return to his lane, but failed resulting in the accident. The Chronicle
