News / National
National hero's widow battles for life
13 Dec 2013 at 06:23hrs | Views
THE wife of national hero Edward Ndlovu, Mary, is battling for her life in a South African hospital after being injured in an accident involving the Bulawayo-bound Pathfinder luxury coach and a haulage truck last Saturday.
Four people died on the spot when the bus hit a cow and the driver lost control resulting in a head-on collision with the truck. Four others later died in hospital.
Mary was thrown off from the upper deck of the bus on impact.
Judith Todd (a friend of Mary) and former Education minister David Coltart confirmed in their correspondence privy to Southern Eye that Mary was critically injured in the Pathfinder bus accident.
Todd said Mary (71) had undergone extensive surgery in Johannesburg and was admitted at the Milpark Hospital's intensive care unit trauma section and would be there until today.
"God willing, the worst should be over and she should be safe. She is having a hip replacement and work was to be done on her back and neck," Todd said.
"I got a message from Peta (Thornycroft) this morning saying Mary was using her cellphone, but by the time I tried (calling her), I couldn't get through. I don't have details of her injuries, but one of her friends says she has a cracked hip," said Todd.
Responding to Todd, Coltart said the last time he saw Mary was on Sunday and she was heavily sedated.
"I think she is very fortunate to be alive. I don't know whether you know, but she was sitting in the second row of seats on the upper deck and was thrown out of the bus. I have just seen a photo of the bus and I am amazed that anyone in the front four rows survived," said Coltart, who travelled yesterday to attend his son Doug's graduation in South Africa.
Ndlovu was engaged in a life-long struggle for independence and was the MP for Gwanda at the time of his death in 1989.
A library named after Edward Ndlovu was opened in Gwanda in 1992 and is still operational. According to the Edward Ndlovu Memorial Trust website, the library has a staff complement of 13 people.
It provides a service in Gwanda town and in 27 rural communities in the district surrounding the town.
Four people died on the spot when the bus hit a cow and the driver lost control resulting in a head-on collision with the truck. Four others later died in hospital.
Mary was thrown off from the upper deck of the bus on impact.
Judith Todd (a friend of Mary) and former Education minister David Coltart confirmed in their correspondence privy to Southern Eye that Mary was critically injured in the Pathfinder bus accident.
Todd said Mary (71) had undergone extensive surgery in Johannesburg and was admitted at the Milpark Hospital's intensive care unit trauma section and would be there until today.
"God willing, the worst should be over and she should be safe. She is having a hip replacement and work was to be done on her back and neck," Todd said.
"I got a message from Peta (Thornycroft) this morning saying Mary was using her cellphone, but by the time I tried (calling her), I couldn't get through. I don't have details of her injuries, but one of her friends says she has a cracked hip," said Todd.
Responding to Todd, Coltart said the last time he saw Mary was on Sunday and she was heavily sedated.
"I think she is very fortunate to be alive. I don't know whether you know, but she was sitting in the second row of seats on the upper deck and was thrown out of the bus. I have just seen a photo of the bus and I am amazed that anyone in the front four rows survived," said Coltart, who travelled yesterday to attend his son Doug's graduation in South Africa.
Ndlovu was engaged in a life-long struggle for independence and was the MP for Gwanda at the time of his death in 1989.
A library named after Edward Ndlovu was opened in Gwanda in 1992 and is still operational. According to the Edward Ndlovu Memorial Trust website, the library has a staff complement of 13 people.
It provides a service in Gwanda town and in 27 rural communities in the district surrounding the town.
Source - southerneye
