13 deaths on Namibian roads

AT least 13 people died in fatal crashes, while 64 others sustained serious injuries this past weekend on national roads, the police said yesterday.

In one of the incidents, six people died on the spot after returning from a funeral when the car they were travelling in on the main road between Oshakati and Outapi collided head-on with another vehicle on Saturday.

According to police spokesperson, inspector Slogan Matheus five motor-vehicle accidents were reported to the police over the weekend, while the chief executive officer of the Motor-Vehicle Accident Fund Rosalia Martins-Hausiku said yesterday afternoon that they recorded 28 accidents, with 64 injuries reported.

Matheus said two vehicles, a white Toyota Hilux 2.7 pickup and a white Toyota VVTI pickup collided head-on on Saturday between Oshakati and Outapi at the Onokolo Village.

“The Toyota Hilux was returning from a funeral and had 13 occupants, including the driver, and the Toyota VVTI had only two occupants – the driver and one passenger. Six people (four females and two males) died in the collision. Five were pronounced dead at the scene, and one person died later upon arrival at the Outapi State Hospital,” the police officer said, adding that nine people sustained serious injuries and were also taken to the Outapi State Hospital.

The other accident was reported on Friday on the B1 road between Okahandja and Windhoek when the driver of a white Quantum bus travelling from Windhoek towards Okahandja lost control of the vehicle, and it overturned.

There were 14 employees of a poultry company in the vehicle. Four died, while 10 sustained serious injuries.

“It is alleged that the driver was overtaking another car, but lost control over the vehicle. The car collided with a stationary Toyota pickup truck (belonging to a construction company working on the Okahandja-Windhoek road) which was parked alongside the road, and overturned. Two passengers (male and female) were pronounced dead at the scene, and the third person died shortly upon arrival at the Okahandja State Hospital, while the driver died on Saturday morning,” Matheus said.

The deceased were identified as 28-year-old Anna Lameck, 25-year-old Simon Haingura Abraham, 31-year-old Claudia Kaupangua and the driver, 36-year-old Kevin Snyders.

Matheus said another accident happened on the same day on the same road.

“The driver of a Volks­wagen minibus lost control of the vehicle, and it overturned near Okapuka tannery. The driver was alone in the vehicle, and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident,” said Matheus.

The deceased was identified as 47-year-old Warnet Guy Losper.

The fourth accident was on the gravel road between the Onamungudo and Onhuno villages after the driver of a Toyota Corrolla (sedan) lost control of the vehicle and it hit a tree.

The driver died on the spot.

“The driver was alone in the vehicle at the time of the accident, and he was identified as 58-year-old David Angula,” Matheus said.

Between Omuthiya and Onanke village on Saturday, a 39-year-old driver sustained serious injuries when he lost control of the car he was driving and it overturned on the gravel road.

The MVA’s Martins-Hausiku said the “scale of the number of lives lost in only three days will deeply affect a great number of parents, children, relatives, friends and colleagues. The precious lives lost were people who contributed to the economy of our country in one way or another, and were people who formed an important part of the lives of those they knew”.

According to some of the eyewitnesses of the accident scene between Okahandja and the Osona Military Base, many of those who turned up at the scene were more interested in taking pictures than helping the victims.

“I asked one man who was busy taking pictures to help move a pregnant woman who was involved in the accident, because I couldn’t do it alone. He disappointingly ignored me, and continued taking pictures around the accident. A nurse who was in one of the arriving cars came to assist,” the sad eyewitness wrote on her Facebook page.

Martins-Hausiku advised the public who arrive on a scene to collect all relevant information and provide such details to the MVA Fund Call Centre at 081 9682; to manage the scene by, among others, checking on the safety of other road users (switch on your vehicle’s emergency lights to warn other road users) and to provide possible comfort to the injured until emergency medical services arrive.

It is also not advisable to post pictures of the injured and/or crash on social media to safeguard the sensitivity around the accident, and to protect those involved as well as their families.

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