News / Local
Mduduzi Mathuthu survives car crash
15 Dec 2015 at 05:20hrs | Views
THE Chronicle Editor, Mduduzi Mathuthu, cheated death on Sunday around 9pm after his BMW X5 hit a cow, side-swiped with an oncoming vehicle and almost fell over Gwayi River Bridge along Plumtree Road.
Mathuthu said the crash occurred as he approached the Gwayi River Bridge towards Redwood. He was in the company of his four nephews and a niece. Mathuthu is the only one who got injured in his car as he suffered friction burns on his right hand. Doctors have, however, given him the all clear for internal injuries.
"When I dipped my lights for oncoming traffic, suddenly a cow just appeared in the middle of the road. I tried to avoid it but hit it with the front right side and it died right away. The front right tyre burst on impact and the vehicle swerved right. I battled to avoid a head-on collision with the other car, a Mitsubishi Colt, unfortunately the two cars side-swiped. The Colt just but cleared the bridge but was left almost hanging over it," said Mathuthu.
He said he miraculously brought his car to a stop because he cleared the whole bridge without his front right wheel.
Mathuthu said if he had not side-swiped with the Colt, he would have fallen over the bridge.
"It's days and events like this that remind you there are benevolent forces at work that we know nothing about that watch over us," he said. The Colt driver was treated for pain in the neck while one of his passengers was reported to have fractured his arm.
The driver of the South Africa-registered Colt, it later emerged, is Maxwell Sibanda and is known to Mathuthu.
He runs a bar in Mahole, Filabusi, Mathuthu's home area.
Recently, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe launched a livestock branding project with reflective ear tags after realising that the greater percentage of accidents were caused by stray animals on the roads. The move was aimed at minimising vehicle-animal collisions on the country's major highways.
Villagers have been warned to watch over their livestock and ensure they are not found roaming on the highways where they are the major cause of accidents, especially at night.
the herald
Mathuthu said the crash occurred as he approached the Gwayi River Bridge towards Redwood. He was in the company of his four nephews and a niece. Mathuthu is the only one who got injured in his car as he suffered friction burns on his right hand. Doctors have, however, given him the all clear for internal injuries.
"When I dipped my lights for oncoming traffic, suddenly a cow just appeared in the middle of the road. I tried to avoid it but hit it with the front right side and it died right away. The front right tyre burst on impact and the vehicle swerved right. I battled to avoid a head-on collision with the other car, a Mitsubishi Colt, unfortunately the two cars side-swiped. The Colt just but cleared the bridge but was left almost hanging over it," said Mathuthu.
He said he miraculously brought his car to a stop because he cleared the whole bridge without his front right wheel.
Mathuthu said if he had not side-swiped with the Colt, he would have fallen over the bridge.
The driver of the South Africa-registered Colt, it later emerged, is Maxwell Sibanda and is known to Mathuthu.
He runs a bar in Mahole, Filabusi, Mathuthu's home area.
Recently, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe launched a livestock branding project with reflective ear tags after realising that the greater percentage of accidents were caused by stray animals on the roads. The move was aimed at minimising vehicle-animal collisions on the country's major highways.
Villagers have been warned to watch over their livestock and ensure they are not found roaming on the highways where they are the major cause of accidents, especially at night.
the herald
Source - chronicle
