Times Of Swaziland: 2 DRC WOMEN KILLED IN CAR CRASH

2 DRC WOMEN KILLED IN CAR CRASH
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BY KHULEKANI NENE on 14/02/2020 00:34:00


SITEKI – Two Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) women were killed in a
horrific car accident on Wednesday afternoon.
The driver of the vehicle and another woman are reportedly fighting for their
lives in hospital.
According to the police, the accident happened at around 4:30pm at Malindza
area, along Lonhlupheko-Manzini Public Road, not very far from King Mswati III
International Airport.
The deceased were aged 26 and 42 years, but their full particulars, including
names and occupations, could not be ascertained at the time of compiling this
report. Sources close to the police told this publication that the deceased were
DRC nationals and had been living in Eswatini.
Witnessed
A source who spoke to people who witnessed the accident, told this publication
that the deceased were travelling in an import motor vehicle (Mazda Verisa).
He said there were four people inside the vehicle, including the driver.
“They were travelling from Siteki town towards Manzini city. They had earlier
been to the Good Shepherd Mission Hospital Eye Clinic and they were now going
back to their residence at Fairview (Manzini),” said the source.
According to the source, as the vehicle was passing by Sicusha bus stop, towards
the Mbhandlane direction, another vehicle from the opposite direction overtook a
truck. In an attempt to avoid a head-on collision, the driver of the vehicle  in
which the DRC nationals were travelling is said to have swiftly moved the
vehicle out of the tarred track.
However, witnesses said he lost control of the vehicle thus it skidded towards a
roadside bushy area and hit a tree. Chief Police Information and Communications
Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the two passengers (women) in the
vehicle ‘were seriously injured and were rushed to Raleigh Fitkin Memorial
(RFM) Hospital in Manzini, where they were certified dead’.
Injured
“The driver and another passenger, being a 28-year-old woman of Fairview, were
seriously injured and were admitted to Good Shepherd Hospital (in Siteki),”
said Vilakati, in a press release yesterday.
She added that the vehicle was extensively damaged. Vilakati wouldn’t say if
the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident would face culpable homicide
charges once he recovers, but she stated that police were still investigating
what caused the accident.
Meanwhile, the driver of the vehicle and the other passenger who were seriously
injured are said to be in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
Families of the deceased could not be reached for comment at the time of
compiling this report yesterday afternoon.
It is said some relatives of the deceased were spotted at the accident scene
immediately after the accident had happened.
A source told this publication that the relatives of the deceased were
travelling in another vehicle which was ahead of the one which got involved in
the accident.
In another accident, on Sunday night, two government trucks, which were ferrying
members of the Lutsango regiment, skidded off the road and reportedly landed in
a shallow trench by the side of the road.
The accident happened near KaNkambule bus stop at Maphungwane, about 25
kilometres south-east of Siteki. People who visited the scene said the accident
was caused by heavy rains which had caused the road to be slippery.
Vilakati, the police mouthpiece, said this was a minor accident, adding that
there were no injuries sustained by the passengers.
“The truck skidded off the road because the road was muddy but nobody was
injured,” she said.