29 Jul 2020

A 10-year-old pupil of Ikhutseng Primary School in Francistown was recently killed when a school mini bus he was travelling in collided with a Mercedes-Benz in Monarch location.

Central Police Station Commander, Superintendent Lebalang Maniki said the incident occurred at around 7am along Monarch’s Morula street in Area 9.

He said the deceased, who was doing Standard Four, was certified dead on arrival at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital, where his body is now awaiting post-mortem.

Superintendent Maniki explained that the school bus had 11 occupants, including the driver, saying most of them were school children aged between four and 10, who were being transported to school.

He said the oldest was a 16-year-old attending one of the junior secondary schools in the city.

Superintendent Maniki further said another 10-year-old of Phatlogo Primary School in Monarch sustained serious bodily injuries and was admitted at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital.

He said the other occupants were treated for shock and minor injuries and discharged the same day. 

Superintendent Maniki said the driver of the Mercedes-Benz, who was the only occupant, also sustained serious injuries, but was in a stable condition at the hospital.

He said the cause of the accident was still unknown, but preliminary investigations revealed that one of the drivers failed to obey road signs, judging from the amount of impact on the two vehicles.

Superintendent Maniki explained that this was the third fatal accident in his area of jurisdiction since the beginning of th year, saying in one of the accidents, a middle-aged man died along the Francistown-Matshelagabedi road mid this year after the vehicle he was travelling in overturned.

The other incident was where a pedestrian was knocked to death by a car near Jubilee Clinic, along New Bridge Road.

He appealed to motorists to obey the 60km/h speed limit when driving along built-up areas, as well as exercising patience and extra caution on the road.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Maniki said the police were still looking for three robbers, who on Sunday midnight, robbed a 34-year-old Monarch resident of various valuables including cash and a double cab Toyota Hilux at gun point.

He said the three fled with electronics such as mobile phones, cash amounting to P7 000 and the vehicle, which they later dumped at Monarch. ENDS