Kombi crashes into house, kills boy (5)

A GRADE Zero learner was killed when a kombi crashed into a house in Bulawayo's Nkulumane high-density suburb yesterday morning.

The boy had been playing outside with friends and when he decided to go back home he was knocked down by the kombi being driven by a man from the neighbourhood.

The kombi crashed into the corner of the house destroying it in the process and only stopped just before ploughing into the neighbouring house.

The driver of the vehicle had allegedly been drinking in the morning after a night of binging.

The man had been earlier spotted driving recklessly and speeding around Munyoro shopping complex before the tragic accident.

The man fled from the scene, but was later apprehended by residents, who meted out instant justice leaving him bruised and battered.

An eyewitness, Collen Ndlovu, said the man, who chose to remain silent after suffering mob justice, was speeding when he lost control of the vehicle and uprooted the fence before knocking down the little boy in the yard.

"The driver of this vehicle lost control of the vehicle due to speeding and killed the child just like that," Ndlovu said.

"The boy was playing with his friends and then decided to go home.

"He said goodbye to his friends and met his death at the hands of this reckless driver. As you can see the police still have not arrived, but this man killed the child a long time ago.

"It appears they are only quick when arresting vendors.

"Look, the man is just sitting there without being handcuffed yet he killed an innocent child because the police are not here," Ndlovu said.

A neighbour, Thandanini Ncube, said the boy's mother was away in Hwange.

"I do not have anything to say except that I am just shocked," was all Ncube could say as she shook her head.

When the cops finally arrived several hours after the accident, residents ran amok baying for police blood and some could be heard saying the police vehicle should be burnt.

When the cops collected the boy's body, some residents could be seen wiping away tears from their eyes.

Meanwhile, two people were injured and hospitalised yesterday afternoon when the brakes of a minibus carrying 35 passengers failed resulting in it crashing into an Ingwebu Breweries tanker at the Mzilikazi Service Station next to Marondera Clinic, at Emachipsini, causing a five-vehicle pile-up.

The Ingwebu tanker rammed into a fuel pump at the service station and the driver fell unconscious while the conductor of the minibus was injured.

The two were taken to Mpilo Central Hospital.

Linos Phiri, a senior divisional officer with the Bulawayo City Council Fire Brigade said the accident was caused by the minibus brake failure resulting in the pile-up.

The owner of the service station Collen Chigame, said it was fortunate that there was no fuel at the garage when the accident occurred otherwise a huge tragedy would have resulted.

"This whole garage could have burst into a ball of fire and lives would have been lost had there been fuel at the time of the accident," he said.