Four die in kombi accident

FOUR people died, two of them on the spot, when a commuter omnibus that was speeding from a police checkpoint veered off the road and rolled three times before landing on the CMED precast wall in Mutare on Wednesday morning.

The deceased include one male, two female adults and a school child.

The vehicle had 12 people on board, including the driver.

Among the eight who were injured, the driver is in a critical condition.

The injured were taken to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident and refuted claims that police officers threw a tyre-shredding spike on the oncoming vehicle in an attempt to stop it.

“The high roof white kombi did not have number plates. When the commuter omnibus got to a traffic checkpoint, the driver failed to stop. After about 500m from the checkpoint, the commuter omnibus’ rear left tyre burst and the driver lost control of the vehicle. It veered off the road, rolling three times before landing against the

precast wall,” said Assistant CMED Commissioner Nyathi.

“There was no use of spikes to stop the vehicle by any police officer. It is only being said on social media, but otherwise no spike was used.”

The national police spokesperson also confirmed that the omnibus was carrying school children and other passengers.

“After two people died on the spot and eight were taken to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, one was treated and discharged. The driver is in a critical condition,” said Assistant Commissioner Nyathi.

The accident which happened along the Mutare-Vumba Road sent tongues wagging, with some of the earliest people to arrive at the scene claiming that a female police officer threw a trye-shredding spike under the vehicle in an attempt to stop it.

One witness interviewed by The Manica Post said: “I saw one dead body on the spot, but there were more. The incident happened around 6.30am. A female police officer threw a spike under the vehicle, resulting in the driver losing control.”