Amid the carnage, in which 17 people were killed in a horror road accident near the Hunyani Bridge along Seke Road yesterday, emerged a miraculous story of a woman who escaped from the trapped kombi with back injuries.
Two other
people, who were in the kombi, also survived the crash.
A man and his
wife, who were walking along the island which separates the dual carriageway,
were the first to be killed when they were hit by the haulage truck after its
driver lost control and encroached into the oncoming traffic lane.
The truck then
crashed head-on with a Nissan Caravan kombi, which was headed towards
Chitungwiza and was on the final stages of its journey from the Harare CBD, and
15 people who were in the kombi, including the driver, died on the spot. The
truck dragged the kombi off the road and when it overturned it landed on top of
the kombi and trapped all the people in the kombi under its weight. Vanessa
Nyandoro, 24, was one of the 15 passengers who were in the kombi. Somehow, she
survived the horror crash. “I do not know how I escaped, I thank God for this
life,” she told H-Metro.
Three people who were in the kombi survived the accident. The driver of the haulage truck, Desire Madariko, 56, sustained neck injuries and was rushed to hospital. A passenger, who was in the haulage truck, also survived the accident. The accident caused one of the biggest traffic jams along Seke Road since it was turned into a dual carriageway.
National police
spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident.
“Reference is
made to a post on the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s official X handle regarding a
fatal road accident involving a haulage truck and a kombi which occurred this
morning at Hunyani Bridge along Seke Road, Chitungwiza.
“The Zimbabwe
Republic Police confirms that 17 people died after a haulage truck travelling
towards the Harare Central Business District with two occupants on board lost
control and veered onto the oncoming lane. The truck hit two pedestrians who
were walking on the island of the road. The pedestrians died on the spot.
“The truck went
on to collide, head-on, with a Nissan Caravan kombi travelling in the opposite
direction towards Chitungwiza with 17 passengers on board. As a result of the
collision, the truck dragged the Nissan Caravan kombi off the road and
overturned. It then landed on top of the kombi and in the process trapping it.
“Subsequently,
15 occupants who were in the kombi, including the driver, died on the spot,
while four others (three from the kombi and one from the truck) were injured.
The victims comprise 10 females and seven males. The bodies of the victims were
taken to Chitungwiza Hospital mortuary for post-mortem, while the injured were
referred to the same institution for treatment.”
A witness told
H-Metro: “The kombi driver stays in Zengeza, he was driving along Seke Road due
south towards Chitungwiza.
“I want to
believe that the haulage truck driver lost control of his motor vehicle, veered
to the right side, hitting the people who were walking on the road island
towards Chitungwiza.
“He then
encroached onto the oncoming traffic lane and hit the kombi on the front
driver’s door.
“The haulage truck dragged the kombi off the road and landed on top of it.” H Metro
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