Cop injured, girlfriend killed in late night accident

A JUNIOR police officer based in Victoria Falls cheated death, but lost his girlfriend in a head-on collision which occurred after he allegedly failed to give way to oncoming traffic in the Mkhosana area on Sunday night.

Victoria Falls police boss, Deputy Chief Superintendent Dominic Sibanda, confirmed the incident and identified the junior cop as Constable Osovaldo Charandura.

"The accident happened approximately at 2am in Mkhosana near Mukali Beerhall. When he (Charandura) approached the junction, he failed to give way regardless of a sign, leading to a collision with a Toyota Wish car," Sibanda said.

"Charandura was driving a Nissan March and it was hit on the side which led to the two drivers being injured and a loss of life."

A taxi driver, who was among the first people to arrive at the scene of the accident, said prior to the crash, Charandura and the deceased had been spotted at a local club, but Sibanda said they were yet to verify allegations of drunken driving.

"We cannot safely confirm that he was drunk, but the same night, there was a farewell party for the transferring officers and he was present. We hadn't looked at the circumstances for now as he is in a critical condition. He was a married man and his wife was at home when it happened. We were told that the deceased was his girlfriend, so for now we haven't been told what transpired except failing to obey road signals," he said.

The deceased was identified as Brenda Mhangami (20) and her body was taken to Victoria Falls Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.

Sibanda said they were on a manhunt for the other driver who sped away soon after the accident.

"We are looking for the Toyota driver who disappeared after the accident. We were told that his name is Kelvin. We do not know why he ran away. We suspect that he had no driver's licence or he panicked and lost his senses, but we want him to get examined and treated in hospital before looking into the case."