Driving lesson turns tragic as woman drives over, kills son (6)
By Pamela Shumba
A driving lesson ended in tragedy when a Bulawayo woman ran over and killed her six-year-old son while trying to drive through a gate.
Mr Michael Chitehwe was allegedly teaching his wife Felista to drive when she lost control of the car at their home in Queens Park West suburb on Saturday afternoon.
The boy died on the spot.
Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident yesterday.
“We received a report of a boy who died after being hit by a car that was being driven by his mother,” he said.
When The Chronicle visited their home yesterday, the grief stricken family was still trying to come to terms with the death of their son.
Mr Chitehwe confirmed the incident but declined to comment, saying he was still in shock.
A resident, who requested anonymity, said the couple arrived home on Saturday afternoon and stopped at the gate when their son, who was playing outside, ran to open the gate.
“The little boy ran to open the gate and stood by the side. For some reason his mother lost control of the car and hit the side of the gate where the boy was standing. He died on the spot,” said the neighbour.
The boy will be buried today.
Residents speculated that Mrs Chitehwe may have accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.
Meanwhile, a man from Bulawayo died on the spot when he rammed his car into Umguza Bridge.
The accident happened at the 11km peg along the Bulawayo-Harare road yesterday morning.
Mr Sizani Maphosa, who was driving a Nissan March from Bulawayo towards Fairbridge, is suspected to have lost control of the vehicle.
Acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednico Ncube said he had not received the report yesterday.
When The Chronicle arrived at the scene, Mr Maphosa’s body lay on the roadside while workers from Shark recovery were loading the wrecked car onto their truck.
Officials from Intertoll told The Chronicle that the accident occurred at about 8AM.
“The accident must have occurred at about 8AM. We passed through the bridge just before 8AM and when we came back minutes later we saw the wreckage of the car and the man’s body inside,” said an Intertoll official who declined to be named.
He said Mr Maphosa’s body had multiple injuries, especially on the head.
The official said they called the police who attended the scene.
Some passersby speculated that Mr Maphosa could have committed suicide as there were no skid marks on the road to show that he attempted to avoid the accident.
Others, however, argued that he could have been disturbed by another vehicle. The Chronicle
