News / Local
Commuter Omnibus runs down pedestrian
17 Sep 2011 at 14:36hrs | Views
A Bulawayo commuter omnibus knocked down a pedestrian on Thursday morning, leaving a trail of questions about safety in our roads. The accident happened just before 8am at a busy intersection along Luveve main road intersecting Masiyephambili road at Makhandeni. The commuter omnibus was en route to picking up passengers to town. The driver of the omnibus is cited for failing to yield to the pedestrian.
Onlookers said the omnibus sped through the traffic light controlled intersection ploughing into the pedestrian crossing the road. After hitting the pedestrian the kombi stopped more than 100 metres away from the scene, reinforcing the allegation that he was over speeding.
The right leg of the victim broke as a result of the force of the crash.
"It was the force of the impact that threw her off the road, so much that he landed on the road and thus sustained the injury", said Luckmore Rwauya, a witness.
Luckmore Rwauya was across the road when he saw the accident happen. "It was like, the driver just put his foot down on the accelerator and lost it," he said.
On a relatively straight, clear stretch of road: Lameck Nyoni, who arrived on the scene two minutes after the accident occurred after the car they were travelling on was overtaken by the omnibus involved, alleges the driver could have been doing more than 100km/h.
"The driver could have tried to beat the red light when he knocked down the pedestrian", added Nyoni.
In addition, the driver is alleged to have almost knocked down two other pedestrians near Makhandeni Zesa Power Station.
The victim, a female in her mid twenties; was given first aid by ambulance attendants before being driven off to Bulawayo Central Hospital.
"The timely arrival of the police force ensured the safety of the driver, as the upset crowd expressing their anger intended to put law into their own hands", added another witness.
"Most drivers do not obey road signs. Because you will see most of the time if the sign is to travel with 80km/hr people will be at 100 or 120km/hr. That's one of the reasons we get such", added one vendor.
A furious witness commented, "the mentality of these kombi drivers when it comes to safety is beyond me".
Onlookers said the omnibus sped through the traffic light controlled intersection ploughing into the pedestrian crossing the road. After hitting the pedestrian the kombi stopped more than 100 metres away from the scene, reinforcing the allegation that he was over speeding.
The right leg of the victim broke as a result of the force of the crash.
"It was the force of the impact that threw her off the road, so much that he landed on the road and thus sustained the injury", said Luckmore Rwauya, a witness.
Luckmore Rwauya was across the road when he saw the accident happen. "It was like, the driver just put his foot down on the accelerator and lost it," he said.
On a relatively straight, clear stretch of road: Lameck Nyoni, who arrived on the scene two minutes after the accident occurred after the car they were travelling on was overtaken by the omnibus involved, alleges the driver could have been doing more than 100km/h.
In addition, the driver is alleged to have almost knocked down two other pedestrians near Makhandeni Zesa Power Station.
The victim, a female in her mid twenties; was given first aid by ambulance attendants before being driven off to Bulawayo Central Hospital.
"The timely arrival of the police force ensured the safety of the driver, as the upset crowd expressing their anger intended to put law into their own hands", added another witness.
"Most drivers do not obey road signs. Because you will see most of the time if the sign is to travel with 80km/hr people will be at 100 or 120km/hr. That's one of the reasons we get such", added one vendor.
A furious witness commented, "the mentality of these kombi drivers when it comes to safety is beyond me".
Source - Byo24News
