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Crime Reporter 

A Harare woman died after she was hit by a goods train in Mabvuku while trying to save her son from being hit by the same train.

The disaster occurred as 13 more people were killed in separate road accidents recorded countrywide this week.

In the case of the Mabvuku woman, she was hit last Friday and she died this Monday after being admitted to a local hospital.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident.

“A woman was hit by a goods train while trying to save her son from being hit by the train in Mabvuku on December 18, 2020. She later succumbed to the injuries on December 21, 2020 after being admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital,” he said.

Meanwhile, two people died while five others were injured in a fatal road traffic accident which occurred on Wednesday at the 45km peg along Harare-Masvingo Road when the driver of a Mazda Axella lost control, resulting in a sideswipe with a Honda Fit travelling in the opposite direction.

On December 22, four more people died and two injured at the 30km peg along Harare-Nyamapanda Road when a motorist driving a Toyota Gaia made a U-turn in front of an oncoming haulage truck resulting in a head-on collision.

In a similar incident, three people were killed while eight others were injured at the 164km peg along the same road when a driver tried to overtake a vehicle which was in front of him resulting in a head on collision with another vehicle approaching from the opposite direction.

Asst Comm Nyathi said on December 20, at around 2040 hours, four people perished at the 385km peg along the Harare-Bulawayo Road when a motorist encroached onto the lane of oncoming traffic.

The motorist hit the right side of a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction and his vehicle overturned, resulting in the fatalities. One person was injured in the accident.

Police have advised motorists “to drive to arrive alive”, to exercise extreme caution on the road and avoid costly human errors.

They have promised to heavily deploy officers along the country’s major roads to ensure sanity.

Motorists have been urged to comply with orders from police officers manning roadblocks.

On December 19, three women and one juvenile, drowned when a motorist tried to cross a bridge on a flooded river along the Zvishavane-Mpalawane Road in Fort Rixon.

The vehicle had nine passengers on board.

“The vehicle was swept away and it overturned. The motorist is being charged with culpable homicide,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.