News / Regional
Another Granvia claims life in Gwanda
05 Feb 2015 at 13:34hrs | Views
Another Toyota Granvia Commuter omnibus has crushed in Gwanda killing one person on the spot and injuring several others.
The omnibus travelling from Bulawayo to Gwanda with 11 passengers on board burst a rear tyre a few meters from Mtshabezi turn off on the Bulawayo Gwanda Highway 25 kilometers from Gwanda town. According to witnesses the vehicle burst the left rear tyre and overturned landing on its left side about 150 meters away from the point where the tyre burst.
One person who was seated on the front passenger seat was thrown out of the vehicle as it overturned hit the hard surface outside head first and died on the spot. The other passengers who were in the vehicle survived the accident with minor injuries and were rushed to near by Gwanda Hospital. According to hospital authorities most of them were treated for minor injuries and discharged while a few were still under going trauma therapy.
One of the survivors of the accident blamed the tyre burst on the high temperatures in the area during the day. The survivor refused to be drawn to a conclusion that the driver was over speeding which some witnesses claimed to have been the case. According to the survivor the driver was driving at a fairly comfortable speed all the way from Bulawayo but was unfortunate to fail to control the vehicle after the tyre burst.
"I don't want to unnecessarily put the blame on the driver, he tried the best he could to control the vehicle after the tyre burst but failed. He was not at all speeding as he was already slowing down to drop off some people at Mtshabezi turn off bus stop," he said.
The Toyota Granvia vehicle continues to be involved in a number of fatal accidents on the country's roads mainly due to tyre bursts and high speed. Several times the government has threatened to remove the vehicle from the roads as a public transport vehicle but nothing concrete has ever come out of it.
Information supplied by some sources also indicates that the vehicle belonged to a senior police officer in Gwanda and was in the habit of not adhering to rules at the taxi ranks as it was often seen loading passengers from unauthorised pick up points. The sources claim that the tyre burst may have been caused by the fact that the vehicle was never stopping to rest and join the que like all other vehicles but would jostle to make quick trips back to make more money. The government has in the meantime banned police officers from owning public transport vehicles to curb corruption on the roads.
The omnibus travelling from Bulawayo to Gwanda with 11 passengers on board burst a rear tyre a few meters from Mtshabezi turn off on the Bulawayo Gwanda Highway 25 kilometers from Gwanda town. According to witnesses the vehicle burst the left rear tyre and overturned landing on its left side about 150 meters away from the point where the tyre burst.
One person who was seated on the front passenger seat was thrown out of the vehicle as it overturned hit the hard surface outside head first and died on the spot. The other passengers who were in the vehicle survived the accident with minor injuries and were rushed to near by Gwanda Hospital. According to hospital authorities most of them were treated for minor injuries and discharged while a few were still under going trauma therapy.
One of the survivors of the accident blamed the tyre burst on the high temperatures in the area during the day. The survivor refused to be drawn to a conclusion that the driver was over speeding which some witnesses claimed to have been the case. According to the survivor the driver was driving at a fairly comfortable speed all the way from Bulawayo but was unfortunate to fail to control the vehicle after the tyre burst.
"I don't want to unnecessarily put the blame on the driver, he tried the best he could to control the vehicle after the tyre burst but failed. He was not at all speeding as he was already slowing down to drop off some people at Mtshabezi turn off bus stop," he said.
The Toyota Granvia vehicle continues to be involved in a number of fatal accidents on the country's roads mainly due to tyre bursts and high speed. Several times the government has threatened to remove the vehicle from the roads as a public transport vehicle but nothing concrete has ever come out of it.
Information supplied by some sources also indicates that the vehicle belonged to a senior police officer in Gwanda and was in the habit of not adhering to rules at the taxi ranks as it was often seen loading passengers from unauthorised pick up points. The sources claim that the tyre burst may have been caused by the fact that the vehicle was never stopping to rest and join the que like all other vehicles but would jostle to make quick trips back to make more money. The government has in the meantime banned police officers from owning public transport vehicles to curb corruption on the roads.
Source - Byo24News
