5-year-old Mutare Girl's Instincts Save Family From Horrific Death
The Midzi family, living near the roundabout where Robert Mugabe and Kumbirai Kangai (Aerodrome) roads meet, narrowly escaped death on Wednesday when a haulage truck lost its brakes while descending the Christmas Pass slopes and crashed into their home while they slept.
According to The Manica Post, the house was reduced to rubble in this incident, marking the 18th road accident at the property since 2007.
The family now lives in constant fear of a deadly accident, as haulage trucks with brake failures continue to descend the slopes and collide with their home.
The truck, which was transporting lithium to Mozambique, crashed into the property around 1 AM. Remarkably, the previous night, five-year-old Kierra had asked to sleep in the sitting room instead of the main bedroom so she could watch cartoons on television.
Kierra and her mother, Melania Midzi, typically sleep in the main bedroom, which was destroyed in the crash; however, both were in the sitting room at the time, resulting in no injuries.
Unfortunately, three rooms, including the main bedroom, spare bedroom, and kitchen, sustained significant damage.
In an interview with The Manica Post, Melania stated that they might not have survived had Kierra not insisted on sleeping in the sitting room. She said:
I am still traumatised and shocked. My little daughter is my angel. She insisted that we sleep in the sitting room, otherwise, both of us would have died had I not listened to her.
She said the other bedroom that was destroyed is often shared by her niece, Mary, and their domestic worker, who both were away for the holidays. Said Midzi:
If they had been around, we could have been talking of a different and sad story. Both travelled for the holidays and were supposed to be back on Tuesday, but they did not.
I believe it was God’s miraculous hand that stopped and spared them from this accident. Had things been different, all of us would have perished in our sleep.
I heard the truck making a lot of noise, and immediately knew it was charging towards us. All I could do was pick my little girl from her slumber.
I did not know what to do next, considering the trauma of the 17 previous accidents.
Midzi said they have been petitioning Mutare City Council since 2007 to be relocated, but nothing has materialised to date. She said:
At one time we were told that it was expensive to relocate us. We have written to them on many occasions, and it seems they want to act when someone has died first.
You can imagine the trauma that we have been enduring since 2007 when the first accident occurred. This is the 18th accident, and it’s trauma after trauma.
Midzi’s nephew, Joseph Midzi, who was also under the same roof when the accident occurred, said the truck driver said the vehicle developed brake failure as it descended the steep Christmas Pass slopes. He said:
There were five people in the house, and luckily no one was hurt. The driver sustained minor injuries and was treated and discharged at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital. He has since been taken for questioning by the police.
We are appealing to the authorities to relocate us because we are not safe here. We are also appealing for foodstuffs and other incidentals because our kitchen was destroyed together with the two bedrooms.
We are also afraid that part of the house which remains might give in when the truck is removed.
The Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Misheck Mugadza, said that plans for the construction of the Christmas Pass Bypass route are well underway to help prevent accidents like the one that damaged the Midzi home.
John Misi, the Manicaland provincial director for the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, said the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) will address the family’s immediate needs.
Acting Town Clerk Blessing Chafesuka revealed that the house is now uninhabitable and called for an emergency full council meeting to discuss the best ways to assist the family.
More: Pindula News
