Horrific accident claims seven lives

Bonte Seepi | Monday December 19, 2016 18:00

 

A Gabz Link 65-seater bus collided with an Audi A3 around 11:15am on Saturday morning.

Mahalapye Police station commander, superintendent Isaac Mamadi confirmed the accident to The Monitor. He said they suspect it was a head-on collision. He further added that according to their investigations, the bus was heading north (Orapa) whilst the Audi was going a the southerly direction.

“All the four women and their male driver who were in the Audi died on the spot as their vehicle was left in pieces. On the other hand, two people from the bus, both males, also died. All the seven lives were lost on the spot.

“The bus driver was trapped in the wreckage, but we managed to rescue him and he is currently fighting for his life at the Mahalapye Hospital. We still do not know what might have caused the accident, but it is clear it was a head-on collision,” said Mamadi.

He however said their investigations are still ongoing adding that they have not managed to take statements from anyone yet since the driver and other eight passengers are still hospitalised for the serious injuries they sustained.

Meanwhile, the police boss  said the ages of the deceased ranged between 35 and 47. However, he said that they still do not know the total number of passengers who were in the bus, but said it was a 65-seater bus.

In another matter, Mamadi said still on the same day at around 8pm, about a kilometre from the scene of the other accident, a 50-years-old man was run over by a Toyota Corolla.

“We don’t know if he was trying to cross the road or what because the car hit him right in the middle of the road. The man is currently hospitalised at Mahalapye Hospital nursing serious injuries while driver of the vehicle escaped the accident without a scratch,” he said.

The station commander decried accidents on the A1 road saying it is one of the busiest roads in the country, but Batswana still drive carelessly on it.

“It’s surprising that there can still be a head-on on a straight road like that. People are still refusing to listen to the police advices  on road safety.  We can’t even tell what really happened, but it’s obvious that somebody was somehow irresponsible while driving. Batswana must think for themselves,” said Mamadi. Moreover, he decried lack of cooperation by the people when an accident occurs. He said that they have long been urging the people to stop crowding at accident scenes and taking pictures.

“Taking pictures at accident scenes is more like some people are celebrating whilst others are crying. It’s a pity because while the rescue team will be busy trying to save lives, the community will on the other hand busy searching victims’ properties. That behaviour is totally unacceptable,” he said.