Road carnage claims four lives as road accidents escalate

The first quarter of this year has recorded a shocking total of 916 road accidents, during which 1.663 people have sustained injuries and 188 died.
Speaking at a recent media briefing in Windhoek, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Vehicle Association, Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, passed her condolences to the families of the four people who lost their lives in another tragic road crash that occurred on 15 April.
“According to provisional information reported to the Fund’s Call Centre, the crash was a head-to-side collision between an Iveco and a passenger truck travelling in opposite directions, which occurred about 5km outside Okahandja towards Otjiwarongo at 23:23,” she said.
Martins-Hausiku stated that four people – two females, one male and a baby – died at the scene of the crash, while 23 others sustained light to moderate injuries and were transported to Okahandja State Hospital, while eight patients were transferred to Windhoek and are currently receiving treatment at Katutura Hospital.

The actual cause has not yet been established, but police investigations are ongoing. “However, it is believed that the bus experienced a technical failure, most likely brake failure, as the driver attempted to turn left towards Okahandja. In the process, the Iveco bus – which at the time was travelling in the right lane towards Otjiwarongo – collided head-on with the side of the bus,” she explained.
In the first quarter of 2013 (Jan-Mar), 764 crashes were recorded as compared to this year’s quarter with 779 crashes recorded, indicating a 5% increase. Injuries increased by 1% only, but fatalities increased by a shocking 37%.
The statistics also revealed that the following regions had the highest number of crashes: Khomas (49%), Erongo (13%) and Otjozondjupa region (9%). Few crashes were recorded from Omusati and Kunene region, with 2% and 1% respectively.
The number of fatalities per region that occurred during January to March this year shows that most of them were recorded from Otjozondjupa (19%), Erongo (17%) and Omaheke region (17%), with Zambezi (2%) and Kunene (1%) recording the least numbers.
Martins-Hausiku cited that this month alone, “we have already lost 21 lives. This is of great concern to the fund as the country continues losing lives due to road crashes, most of which could be prevented.”