Road accident kills woman, boy
Bonte Seepi | Thursday January 7, 2016 14:43
The Toyota Ipsum, which was heading to Gaborone, left two passengers dead, a 31-year-old woman and a three-year-old boy.
According to a Mahalapye Police traffic officer Assistant Superintendent, Kgosilarona Sechoni, there were eight people in the car.
“The driver of the car and two passengers sustained serious injuries and are still under critical condition at Mahalapye Hospital, while the other three passengers have since been released from the hospital as they sustained minor injuries,” said Sechoni.
Sechoni also revealed that there were three children aged between three and six of which one died.
He said of the eight victims, five are relatives, while two are also related to each other, and one was not related to any of the casualties.The police are not yet certain as to what might have caused the accident, but investigations are still ongoing.
“We have not yet managed to contact the people who were in the car as some of them are still in a state that we would not (allow for us to) take statements from them. But, it seems like the driver lost control of the car, hence it overturned,” said Sechoni.
Sechoni said the police have already contacted the families of the deceased and those injured in the accident. He said all the victims are from Central District and the deceased originate from Kgagodi village.
On the same day, another horrific accident occurred five kilometres from the scene of the previous accident but no fatalities were reported. “We registered another accident on the same day at around 8:30pm. The accident involved a Toyota RunX and a Ford Ranger. According to eye-witnesses, a Toyota RunX, which was from Mahalapye heading to Palapye hit a cow, then it hit a Ford Ranger coming from Palapye, hence a head on collision,” explained Sechoni.
The driver of the RunX is still at the Mahalapye hospital nursing serious injuries, while other people had since been released from the hospital. Road users have been advised to have sufficient rest the day before travelling as fatigue is a major cause of most road accidents.
The police also urged drivers to ensure the fitness of their cars before hitting the roads, especially during the holidays.
“The A1 is a very busy route that is always overcrowded so it needs cooperation of the drivers. Overspeeding and overtaking can cause confusion among the drivers, especially those who are not yet confident on the road, so drivers must adopt the right speed,” Sechoni added.