BY AWAKHIWE KHUMALO
A Victoria Falls pupil died after he was hit by a car as he was crossing a road near the Vehicle Inspection Department on Wednesday while walking home from school.
This publication witnessed the accident, which happened at around 12:45 and it took over 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive as the Victoria Falls District Hospital said it did not have an available ambulance.
The boy’s lifeless body lay on the roadside until the arrival of the Emergency Medical Rescue Ambulance Service (EMRAS) whose crew confirmed that he was already dead and police were later called to collect the body.
Eyewitnesses accused the driver of the Nissan Sunny car that hit the boy of speeding.
Dents on the car suggested that the boy was hit by the left side of the car.
“The car was moving at a very high speed and he hit him as he was attempting to cross the road from Chinotimba heading to Mkhosana,” one witness said.
“The car dragged him for about 20 meters and he was hit from the left side of his head, which caused severe bleeding.
“The boy could not be immediately assisted as the driver locked himself in the car while we were trying to call for an ambulance until signs of life disappeared. It was very traumatic.”
Frustrated residents expressed displeasure over how the accident was handled by the hospital officials who said they did not have necessary resources to rescue the boy.
Residents resorted to calling the privately owned EMRAS whose crew arrived within minutes even though there was little they could do to save the boy as he was already dead.
“(The hospital) told us that the ambulance was not available and we should try calling Chinotimba Clinic and that was the end,” one resident at the scene said.
“The hospital is only abouta kilometre away and that child could not be saved as he kept bleeding from the head and the scorching heat from the tarmac made it worse.
“They are under-resourced and this is disheartening because this is a tourist town where such resources should always be there in cases like these.”
A Hwange district ambulance only arrived as police were removing the body from the scene.
Fungisai Musinami, the Hwange district medical officer, said she was not aware of the accident when contacted for comment.
“I am not in the office today, but you can go and check at the outpatient (section) if the body was taken there,” Musinami said.
Police were not immediately available for comment.