A BULAWAYO woman’s legs were mangled after a car hit her resulting in her landing on the bonnet of the same vehicle which then ploughed into a precast wall before ramming into a lounge of a house in Sizinda suburb yesterday afternoon.
Onlookers screamed in terror as the woman, identified as Mrs Lestina Tshuma, clung precariously to the Mazda Atenza vehicle, which appeared to be trying to shake her off as it went into the house.
The vehicle, witnesses said, failed to negotiate a corner and hit Mrs Tshuma as she was walking by the roadside about to enter her home.
To add salt to injury, the driver of the car and his passengers allegedly robbed her of $30 when they thought she was dead.
Good Samaritans who called an ambulance fought the driver and tried to snatch the woman’s money from his clutches.
The notes were torn to pieces during the scuffle.
The name of the driver could not be established at the time of going to Press but he is said to be a resident of Sizinda suburb.
An angry mob wanted to mete instant justice on the robber-cum-motorist but a swift reaction from the police saved him from being assaulted.
The woman whose house was damaged by the vehicle, said she still cannot believe she was almost hit by a car in her living room.
I was just sitting in my living room reading a newspaper while my children were watching TV. Suddenly, ngizwe into ethi gqi (heard a loud bang). The next thing, I saw a black car parked inside my lounge. I cannot even describe what I felt or what I thought as the car was just inches away from one of the children,” said the woman who only identified herself as Ms Bitu.
One of her children said the incident was like a clip taken off a 3D movie as it was unbelievable.
“I still cannot believe it. I have never seen such a thing. It is just by God’s grace that we survived. It is just sad however, that our neighbour was seriously injured,” she said.
When The Chronicle arrived at the scene, the car was still at the spot, with half of it still stuck in the house.
It had destroyed a huge chunk of the wall and rubble of concrete and broken glass was strewn all over the place.
An unconscious Mrs Tshuma had already been rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital in an ambulance following the accident which occured at around 3pm.
Pieces of flesh from her body were still on the ground.
A vendor who has a stall just a few metres away from the accident scene said the driver of the black Mazda Atenza did not stop after hitting the woman but instead accelerated.
“After knocking that woman, he tried to flee but she clung onto the bonnet, he accelerated assuming that she would fall from the bonnet but he failed to negotiate a sharp turn and ploughed into the precast wall before smashing into the house with her still on the bonnet. She is lucky to be alive,” said a vendor who only identified herself as MaBanda.
Police from Western Commonage Traffic section attended the scene and arrested the driver.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango could not be reached for comment.
Source-Chronicle