Police in the mining town of Orapa are investigating an incident in which two men aged 27 and 24 perished in a car accident after the car they were travelling in collided with a tractor and injuring its driver.
In an interview with The Telegraph on Monday, the Station Commander of Orapa Police Station, Superintendent Kabo Badirwang confirmed that they received reports of the accident in the early hours of Saturday.
“We received the report on Saturday morning at about 04.00am that a BMW car has collided with a tractor. The car was travelling in the direction of the tractor towards the gate of Orapa and it hit the tractor from behind. From our observation, It is likely that the car was over-speeding ultimately colliding with the tractor,” he said.
He said that all the three men were whisked to Orapa Mine Hospital. The driver of the car and his passenger were all certified dead upon arrival at the hospital.
He said that one of the men who died was an employee of Orapa mine and the other was a student. He said that the driver of the tractor was treated for minor injuries and discharged on the same day.
“We are still shocked because we hardly record such accidents in our policing area,” said Badirwang.
Although he could not state the real cause of the accident as their investigations are on ÔÇôgoing, ┬á┬áhe warned drivers against drinking and driving saying that it results in horrific accidents. He said that it is important for drivers to take responsibility of their own lives.
“Drinking and driving continues to be one of the main cause of accidents in Botswana,” he said.
Asked on the level of crime in Orapa, Badirwang said that like any other area in Botswana, they do record criminal incidents in their policing area more especially burglary and assaults.
“Although the criminal activities occur in drops, we do record criminal incidents. Our advice as the police is that people should always take responsibility to protect their property against criminals. The police can only help them if they also take responsibility. Motorists should also avoid drinking and driving,” he said.
