Truck kills mother, daughter
Two people died in Ndirande Township in Blantyre on Monday morning after they were hit by a truck registration BQ 1027 belonging to Chibuku Products Limited (CPL).
The deceased, who have been identified as Nurse Gosh, 41, of Tombera Village, Traditional Authority Chapananga in Chikwawa and her five-year-old daughter Chintheya Gosh, were hit by the truck which was being driven by Robert Betland, 38, of Chiwere Village in Traditional Authority Machinjiri in Blantyre.
Blantyre Police Station assistant spokesperson Andrew Mayawo said the truck was heading towards Ndirande Market when the driver tried to change gears only to find that the brakes had stopped working.
He said: “When the truck was going up the slope, the woman was going the opposite direction. When the brakes failed, the truck started to go backwards. Unfortunately, the woman and her child did not see the truck coming until it ran into them.”
An eyewitness, Stephen Chilondo, who was at the scene when the accident took place, said some women tried to call out to the deceased to tell them to move out of the way, but it was already too late.
The truck came to a stop after it crashed into a house belonging to Becky Mkandawire, who said at the time of the accident, her husband and two children were watching television.
She said the husband and the children managed to avoid the truck which was going towards them.
CPL has confirmed the incident, saying they deeply regretted the loss of life.
In a written response, CPL operations director Gerald Bowler said: “Full investigations are currently underway to establish the true cause of the unfortunate accident. Therefore, it is too early to arrive at any conclusion.”
