Fatal accident survivor speaks
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday August 2, 2022 06:00
The fatal accident, which occurred on the A3 Highway along Mafhungo-Hubona villages, involved two public mini-buses and a Toyota Dyna.
The public mini-buses were carrying 27 passengers and a driver each mini-bus leaving some 14 survivors in critical condition.
The mini-buses from Francistown were bound for Sowa Town and Maitengwe respectively, whereas the Toyota Dyna was travelling from the opposite direction.
Looking back to the devastating incident, Marumo, who works as a machine operator at Kopano mine in Dukwi, said he has never experienced such a dreadful thing in his entire life.
He said the fatal accident keeps on haunting him as he keeps having restless nights thinking about both the deceased victims and survivors of the accident. “At first I thought it was all a bad dream but when reality sank in it was the most unforgettable, excruciating, heartbreaking thing I have ever encountered and I still don’t have a proper description of how I am feeling and coping at the moment,” Marumo said.
When speaking about what transpired on the fateful day, Marumo who is from Mogapi village, narrated that last Thursday at 7:30pm he hopped on a mini-bus to Sowa Town by the Old Airport hiking spot.
He added that he was forced to board the same mini-bus due to the chilly weather though he was waiting for his colleague to pick him up by the hiking stop.
The road accident survivor stated that on their way, all was well and they went as far as Mathangwane village without encountering any glitches.
“When we were approaching Mafhungo-Hubona village I dozed off because I was tired. The fatigue was caused by attending a funeral earlier on the same day. Whilst enjoying the light sleep I heard a loud sound which proved that the mini-bus collided with another car,” he said. The father of three indicated that after the bang, his whole body felt strange.
He felt a lot of pain all over his body and some of his body parts remained motionless for some minutes.
Marumo further stated that when the numbness faded away he was forced to shuffle his way out of the mini-bus on his back.
As the accident occurred in a rural area and there were no streetlights, it was very hard for him to see anything.
Due to the darkness, Marumo could only hear the sound of people screaming miserably, pleading for help whilst others were wincing in pain, and one could tell that they were in agony.
He said he then reached into his pockets though he was sore and unable to move but managed to grab his phone. To his surprise, when he switched on his flashlight, he experienced an emotional shock. He shared that there was blood all over the place and people everywhere and many of them had sustained serious injuries.
According to Marumo, everything was just a mess and it would be inhumane to graphically share more details on the state of the victims and survivors after the accident. Describing the Maitengwe-bound mini-bus, Marumo said it had split into small pieces.
By the looks of things, he said, they suspected that the Toyota Dyna might have caused the accident.
He said all the victims were taken to Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital (NHR) by ambulances.
Some of the victims died on the spot whereas some lost their lives on their way to NRH while others were certified dead upon arrival at the same health facility.
The father of three stated that he was treated at the same hospital and was discharged. “I only have pain at the back of my shoulders and I am still receiving daily medical treatment at Dukwi clinic for the back pain and shoulders,” he said. He was thankful to God and the rest of his family members who are always checking up on him and praying for him.
Who are the other victims?
Meanwhile, The Monitor managed to get some information on some of the victims of the fatal accident. Amongst the deceased persons are two refugees based at the Dukwi camp, Dahir Nuur and Alain Kunda, originally from Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo respectively. Another victim, a young woman in her early 20s, Marylin Nthusang from Dukwi village was travelling from Francistown to visit her mother and her two younger sisters.
A family of two from Zimbabwe also met their fate during the accident. The duo, mother and daughter, were going to attend their close family member’s funeral, who was buried on Saturday morning at Nkange. Two other individuals also going to the same funeral did not survive the car crash. In addition, a Zimbabwean man, Brilliant Nyoni and his three-year-old son who were staying in Kutamogoree village also died in the accident. The Zimbabwean man was an electrician and left behind his girlfriend and another child still under a year, who were both at home at the time of the crash.
When commenting on the accident, after losing three people from his village, Dukwi councillor, Thatayaone Kehitile said accidents like this can be avoided.
He said the fatal accident took place at the range of 60km per hour and therefore believes that one of the vehicles was overspeeding leading to the accident.
Kehitile stated that there is a need for motorists to drive cautiously and obey the road signs.
“We are all aware that the A3 Highway is dilapidated, but there is a need to drive vigilantly to save more lives in the area. The road itself from Francistown to Sebina is prone to accidents. It is high time government implemented the dual carriage road proposal to address this matter,” he added.