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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Reporter
A SEVEN weeks old baby girl was crushed to death when a kombi, which was being pushed to a service station, ran over her as her mother watched helplessly.The infant’s mother Catherine Zivanai, who is a vendor, managed to escape death after she was hit twice by the same vehicle as she fled from the scene leaving her daughter at the mercy of the vehicle.

The infant’s uncle, Brian Musengi said the incident occurred on Friday shortly after 4PM at Bulawayo’s Mac’s Garage.

“We were selling our wares together with my sister-in-law (Zivanai) when a minibus, which was pushed to the service station after it ran out of fuel, rolled towards our stalls and hit Zivanai twice on the hip.

“She however, managed to flee to safety leaving her infant who was sleeping and she was run over,” said Musengi as he struggled to hold back tears.

He said the incident will haunt him for the rest of his life.

“I’m so devastated and traumatised with the manner in which my brother’s daughter died. It was a horrific sight after the car ran over her and crushed her head,” he said.

The infant identified as Tatenda was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital in a hired car where she died on admission.

Another vendor who witnessed the incident, Soneni Mpofu said:

“I was busy selling airtime when I heard people screaming and the next thing; I saw a baby lying in a pool of blood after her head was crushed by the kombi.”

Musengi said the infant was buried on Sunday at her parents’ rural home in Shurugwi.Efforts to contact both Zivanai and her husband, Thulani Musengi were fruitless as their phones were continuously not reachable.