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Patrick Chitumba

Midlands Bureau Chief

FIVE people died on the spot in two separate accidents involving a Toyota Wish and a Toyota Fun Cargo in Zvishavane and Gweru on Wednesday.

Four of the five people were passengers in the Toyota Wish which overturned and rolled three times after the driver lost control of the vehicle along the Gweru-Bulawayo Highway.

The Toyota Wish was heading for Bulawayo with eight passengers on board despite a Government directive that there should only be a maximum of two people traveling in a vehicle at any given time to ensure social distancing in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The other person was a pedestrian who was struck by a Fun Cargo after the driver lost control of the vehicle along Zvishavane-Mbalabala Highway. Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the accidents.

“Four passengers and a pedestrian were killed in separate road traffic accidents which occurred in Gweru and Zvishavane on Wednesday afternoon,” he said.

Insp Goko said the Gweru accident occurred near the Tree Tops toll gate when the driver of the Toyota Wish evaded a police roadblock at Dabuka by using a dirt road that passes through some settlements along the Bulawayo-Gweru Highway.

He failed to control the vehicle when he was about to return to the highway. Insp Goko called on people to abide by the lockdown rules and regulations for their own safety warning that circumventing roadblocks was a crime.

“This lockdown is aimed at protecting the people against the spread of Covid-19, but unfortunately the people are now using Mushikashika in which social distance is not followed,” he said. “People should always do the right thing to protect their lives and those of others.”