By Nhau Mangirazi
Two people died — one on the spot and the others upon arrival at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital — when a haulage truck hit a pothole, veered off the road and ploughed into pedestrians at the 255km peg along the Harare-Chirundu Highway near Vuti Secondary School.
Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson Inspector Ian Kohwera confirmed the accident yesterday.
“The truck driver tried to avoid one of the two potholes on the highway when the accident occurred. The truck veered off the road before hitting two pedestrians which saw one passing on on the spot. The truck went on to hit a tree and rolled once before landing on its roof. One of the accident victims was affected when the tree was uprooted,” he told NewsDay.
Four passengers, who were aboard the truck, were injured and ferried to Karoi District Hospital for treatment and were discharged, police added.
The deceased were identified as Dickson Chatewe, who left behind a one-month-old baby and Eliphias Nyanyiwa, a youth.
Meanwhile, Nyanyiwa’s burial was snubbed by members of Johannes Marange apostolic sect amid allegations that he had sought hospital treatment after the accident.
“We witnessed the burial of Nyanyiwa on Saturday, but members of the Johanne Marange sect snubbed his burial, claiming that he had sought medical treatment, hence he was no longer abiding by the church doctrine of not seeking medical attention even when they are sick,” revealed another villager, Thomas Matera.
