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Nokusa Masuku Chronicle Reporter
ONE person died while 17 others were seriously injured when a commuter omnibus overturned after crashing into a pick-up truck at the intersection of Khami Road and Mpopoma Drive yesterday evening.

Bulawayo Chief Fire officer Richard Peterson said the person who died was a woman in her mid 30s.

“Two people were trapped in the vehicle and one of the two died on the spot. The kombi was coming from the city centre driving towards Mpopoma Drive while the Delta vehicle was moving along Mpopoma Drive. The fire brigade ferried 17 passengers who were seriously injured to Mpilo Central Hospital,” he said.

Witnesses said the kombi driver was fleeing from traffic police forcing him to go through a red robot.

“We were walking on a footpath along Khami road when a kombi passed us at speed. We suddenly heard a bang and when we rushed to the scene, we were terrified to hear that a woman had died,” said a witness.

Meanwhile, a motorist who hit a man standing by the roadside in a hit-and-run accident in Pelandaba last week appeared in court yesterday.

Sikhumbuzo Nyathi, 32, appeared before provincial magistrate Willard Maphios Moyo facing charges of culpable homicide, driving without a licence, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident to the police.

He was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody to February 3.

Prosecuting Mufaro Mageza told the court that on Tuesday last week around 5AM, Nyathi failed to negotiate a curve near Magwegwe turn and hit Fellow Dube who was standing by the road side.

“Dube died on the spot and it was during dawn when everything was visible to the truck driver. Nyathi didn’t stop after the accident and Dube’s body was referred to United Bulawayo Hospitals for postmortem,” said Mageza.

The court heard that Nyathi failed to produce a driver’s licence after he was arrested.