News / Regional
3 police officers, not 5, killed in accident
13 Feb 2014 at 12:20hrs | Views
THREE police officers and not 5 as previously reported, died on the spot while a fourth one was seriously injured when a commuter omnibus they were travelling in burst a rear tyre and overturned.
A police officer at the accident scene said four other passengers on board the same vehicle were also seriously injured and were ferried to Gweru Provincial Hospital.
The accident happened near Vungu River Bridge, about 30km outside Gweru along the Bulawayo-Gweru Highway.
According to an eyewitness Joel Sibanda, the kombi had been speeding all the way from Bulawayo and the driver lost control when he tried to overtake the truck.
"The driver of the kombi was speeding and had overtaken us at high speed a few kilometres after we left Bulawayo," said Sibanda.
Another witness, Patrick Mpofu, said he had earlier seen the kombi loading passengers by the gum trees at the corner of Samuel Parirenyatwa Street and 1st Avenue in Bulawayo.
"There were three people who looked dead while the injured were seated by the roadside," Mpofu said.
Deputy Officer Commanding Police in the Midlands, Assistant Commissioner Learn Ncube, also attended the accident scene.
He, however, could not be drawn into commenting much on the accident saying their officers were still in the process of gathering information.
"We will inform you about the developments in due course. Our officers are still in the process of gathering information," said Asst Comm Ncube.
A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the kombi belonged to one of the police officers and the team was on its way to Harare for interviews.
The policemen are reported to have been 9 and they had hired the commuter omnibus to ferry them to Harare to submit application to join the ZRP Construction Unit.
"We do not know at the moment where they were coming from save for the fact that they were coming from the direction of Bulawayo. They had some suits that they had packed and this made us assume they were on their way to Harare for interviews," said the police officer.
A police officer at the accident scene said four other passengers on board the same vehicle were also seriously injured and were ferried to Gweru Provincial Hospital.
The accident happened near Vungu River Bridge, about 30km outside Gweru along the Bulawayo-Gweru Highway.
According to an eyewitness Joel Sibanda, the kombi had been speeding all the way from Bulawayo and the driver lost control when he tried to overtake the truck.
"The driver of the kombi was speeding and had overtaken us at high speed a few kilometres after we left Bulawayo," said Sibanda.
Another witness, Patrick Mpofu, said he had earlier seen the kombi loading passengers by the gum trees at the corner of Samuel Parirenyatwa Street and 1st Avenue in Bulawayo.
Deputy Officer Commanding Police in the Midlands, Assistant Commissioner Learn Ncube, also attended the accident scene.
He, however, could not be drawn into commenting much on the accident saying their officers were still in the process of gathering information.
"We will inform you about the developments in due course. Our officers are still in the process of gathering information," said Asst Comm Ncube.
A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the kombi belonged to one of the police officers and the team was on its way to Harare for interviews.
The policemen are reported to have been 9 and they had hired the commuter omnibus to ferry them to Harare to submit application to join the ZRP Construction Unit.
"We do not know at the moment where they were coming from save for the fact that they were coming from the direction of Bulawayo. They had some suits that they had packed and this made us assume they were on their way to Harare for interviews," said the police officer.
Source - Chronicle
