Tujoromajo Kasuto
Reckless and negligent driving accounts for over 16 injuries and four deaths across Namibia over the past weekend according to the Namibian Police weekend crime and incidents report.
An unlicensed driver of a Toyota sedan lost control of the vehicle and hit a woman identified as Jacobine Haimbodi who was walking next to the road in the village in Ongenga C in the Ongenga constituency in Ohangwena on Friday. Haimbodi was taken to the Engela Hospital by members of the public and she succumbed to her injuries at the hospital the same day at around 21h00. The 38- years-old driver was arrested.
In the Omitara settlement in Omaheke on the Omitara-Otjinene gravel road, the driver of a Toyota Hilux pick-up driving from Otjinene to Windhoek lost control of the vehicle on Friday. Eleven other occupants were in the car. About 20 kilometers from Omitara, the right rear tyre of the vehicle burst, causing the driver to lose control over the vehicle and it rolled several times before it landed on its side, causing the death a three-year-old passenger, Moses Nderura, who died instantly while another female passenger succumbed to injuries before reaching the Gobabis State Hospital.
It is alleged that all eleven passengers were thrown out of the vehicle during the process except for the driver who was in his safety belt.
The injured passengers were all transported to Gobabis State Hospital for medical attention. The other deceased person, a woman, had not been identified woman.
Meanwhile, in Rehoboth on Saturday at about 19H40 on the crossing of B1 Main Road and Bahnhoff Road, the driver of a white Suzuki was bumped by a white Ford after it failed to stop at the crossing.
Four passengers were reportedly in the Suzuki. It is alleged that the Suzuki was traveling in the northern direction and when it reached the crossing, a white ford Everest SUV, travelling from the eastern direction with nine passengers, entered the road without stopping and it was bumped by the Suzuki on the left rear side.
The vehicle than left the road and overturned, All occupants of both vehicles sustained slight to serious injuries and were transported to St Mary’s Hospital for treatment. Both drivers tested negative for alcohol. The 65-year-old man who was driving the Suzuki sustained serious injuries, while his passengers aged, 58, 55, 55 and 11 sustained slight to serious injuries.
The 46-year-old women who was the driver of the Ford Everest sustained slight injuries while her passengers aged, 40, 42, 35, 41, 30, 7, 7, 11 month, and another passenger whose age is unknown, sustained slight to serious injuries.
