Seven killed in two separate accidents

Pini Bothoko | Thursday September 28, 2017 09:45

In an interview with Mmegi, Superintendent Tuelo Komanyane said they are investigating a case in which five people, being relatives, lost their lives when a mini-bus they were travelling in was involved in an accident between Lephephe and Shoshong near Sebere cattle post. He said the accident occurred on Sunday afternoon around 3pm. The mini-bus had 12 people on board including the driver.

“Five people, being four women and a man were certified dead by the doctors on arrival at the hospital. Due to the injuries they sustained, some were referred to Scottish Livingstone hospital in Molepolole and others were referred  to Mahalapye hospital. All of the passengers were elderly people aged between 40 and 80 years,” Komanyane said. He stated that investigations into  the matter are ongoing to establish the cause of the accident.

“It appears that something went wrong that led to the accident, and we are yet to establish the cause. We are yet to investigate the driver, check if the vehicle did not have a mechanical fault, or there was something on the road, hence the need for the accident to be investigated,” Komanyane said. He said that the driver, a man aged 38 years, sustained minor injuries.

He said that the remaining six people are currently hospitalised with serious injuries that include fractures. “I’m hopeful that despite their injuries the passengers who escaped death will recover. We have notified the deceased’s family, post mortems have been done, and we’re still waiting for the results,” Komanyane said.

In another accident that occurred at Ramotswa village on Saturday evening between 7 and 8pm, two people, a man who was a passenger and a woman who was a pedestrian, lost their lives. “The accident occurred in the middle of the village just opposite Caltex garage when the car that had two people on board, the driver and a passenger all being men, hit a pedestrian, a woman aged 35 to death,” said Ramotswa Police Station commander, Superintendent Keoagile Tau in an interview.

Tau said that it appears that after the car hit the pedestrian, the driver lost control and ended up hitting the fence of a yard located metres away from the road. He said that in the process, the passenger, a man in his 30’s was thrown out of the car and lost his life.“The driver also sustained serious head injuries and he is currently hospitalised at Princess Marina Hospital. We suspect that the accident occurred due to careless driving as a result of over-speeding, but investigations into the matter are ongoing,” Tau said.

The police cautioned motorists to be cautious on the road and drive with a minimum speed ahead of the upcoming holidays to avoid unnecessary accidents.They expressed a worry over motorists who continue to over speed and drink while driving something that puts lives in danger despite their continued education on road safety.