Analysis of a Road Accident in Ongwediva: Transport Safety Report

This report details a road accident that occurred on Mandume Ndemufayo Street in Ongwediva, Namibia, on May 8, 2019. The incident involved a Toyota and a Volkswagen Golf, resulting in two fatalities and injuries to others. The initial reports indicated speeding as the cause, but later investigations revealed a complex scenario involving allegations of robbery and reckless driving. The report outlines the incident details, the police investigation, and the eventual ruling that the accident was due to reckless driving. The report also includes references to news articles and online sources that cover the incident, providing a comprehensive overview of the event and its aftermath, highlighting the importance of transport safety and infrastructure management.

Running head: TRANSPORT SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
Transport Safety and Infrastructure Management
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1TRANSPORT SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
NAMIBIA INCIDENT REPORT....................................................................................................2
INCIDENT DETAILS.....................................................................................................................2
 Date and Time:.....................................................................................................................2
 Location:...............................................................................................................................2
 Description of the Incident:..................................................................................................2
References:......................................................................................................................................6
Appendix:........................................................................................................................................7

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NAMIBIA INCIDENT REPORT
Country Namibia
Incident Type Accident
Date 8th May, 2019
INCIDENT DETAILS
 Date and Time:
Tuesday, 8th May around 10:50 am
 Location:
Mandume Ndemufayo Street in Ongwediva, Namibia
 Description of the Incident: On Tuesday, 8th May at around 10:50 am alongside the Mandume Ndemufayo
Street in Ongwediva, a Toyota collided with a Volkswagen Golf which was
carrying four people (Haidula, 2019) The crash resulted in the death of two persons who were identified as Likius
Shonena, 45, and Jason Absalom, a 37 year old man (Omalaeti Technologies,
2019). The sedan that was carrying two more people, are told to have survived the fatal
accident with minor to serious injuries.

3TRANSPORT SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT The pick-up double cab Toyota, which belonged to Shilongo, was seen to be
driven at the speed of 60 kilometres per hour that eventually lost control and
collided with the sedan. According to reports received from the Namibian Police Force, the Toyota was
being driven by a 55 year old woman, Alina Shilongo, who was charged with
negligent and reckless driving along with the case of defeating the course of
justice and culpable homicide. Sergeant Frieda Shikole, the spokesperson of police in the region of Oshana,
informed the media the woman allegedly failed to stop at the site of the accident
and caused minor injuries to herself only to be treated at the local hospital.
Shikole initially reported that the cause of the accident was speeding; the Toyota
driver lost her control over her vehicle and as a result her car swayed right
towards the other vehicle and collided (Omalaeti Technologies, 2019). In a more pressing detail, the accident that was initiated by Alina Shilongo
actually caused damage to four cars in a series of collision. The witnesses
informed that Shilongo’s reckless driving first hit a Toyota Corolla then
proceeded to collide with another vehicle Golf. Meanwhile, the driver driving the
Golf lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a blue Volkswagen Amarok
which was parked at the side of the road. According to the reports, all four cars were severely damaged, and Shikole
informed that the police was still investigating the reason behind Shilongo’s speed
driving when the story took an unexpected turn. It came into view that the fatal

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accident in the region of Oshana that shocked the residents to the core was not an
accident in truth, yet a robbery that went into fiasco. According to accused person, Alina Shilongo, she claimed that there were robbers
who robbed her off her handbag right after she withdrew money from a certain
bank situated in Ongwediva. In order to chase them and get her money back, she
speeded till 60 kilometres per hour and hit the Toyota corolla (Kaapanda, 2019). The accident that led to a consequence of two casualties and three people
admitted to hospital, involved eight persons and four damaged cars. The story that
came out made the police go mum and apparently the investigations were still
going on to figure out the truth behind the claims made by Alina Shilongo. Her
allegations turned to the two casualties and accused them as the robbers who
snatched the woman’s handbag and ran away. The whole unfortunate incident,
according to the accused 55 year old woman, Shilongo, happened for the deceased
alleged robbers. The allegation was serious enough to compel the Namibian police to look deeper
into the matter and investigate more whether there was more to the claims made
by the woman or to what extent was she speaking the truth. Shilongo reported that the moment her bag was snatched away from her, she
chased them with her car and the speeding resulted in an accidental collision with
the Toyota corolla. Her reason behind fleeing from the scene was that she
intended to catch up with the robbers driving the Golf towards a corner shop in
Ongwediva. Eventually she was able to catch up with them however bumped the
vehicle due to the speed. This bumping led the Golf to sway right towards a

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Volkswagen Amarok that was parked still under a tree at the side of the road.
Moreover, the accused claimed more to the story, that after hitting the Golf
accidently, her vehicle too lost control and her car ran over a boundary wall of a
house which was situated along the road. Frieda Shikole, Oshana police spokesperson, informed the media that the accused
55 year old woman was a retired school teacher and according to her allegations
the men she is accusing of robbing her, allegedly robbed certain amount of money
that is unspecified. The allegations went a bit further more when it was found that
a false identity card was found from one of the deceased person and the card was
of a police identity; along with it a police uniform was also found. It is important
to note that these are allegations and the investigation was still going on. Shikole pressed on the fact that investigations were going on and none of the
allegations made by the woman were confirmed. She told the press that the next
of the deceased’s kin were informed and the whole circumstance under which the
incident took place looked sketchy. It was not until later that the real truth was identified by the Namibian police.
After much investigation and enquiries were made, the Namibian police were
finally able to rule out the story of robbery out of the accident (Omalaeti
Technologies, 2019). The allegations made by the woman were proven false.
Warrant Officer Shikole reported that the police investigations perceived that the
accused woman making so many allegations about the deceased persons actually
did not withdraw any money from any commercial bank in the region of
Ongwediva on the day of the accident.

6TRANSPORT SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT Hence the woman was not robbed off any money on the day of the fatal accident;
this unfortunate incident that took the lives of two persons, took place only
because of the speeding and reckless driving of Shilongo (NBC, 2019). Shilongo
later confirmed the story as fake and stated that she did not know any of the
deceased people nor had any type of contact with them before the time of
accident.
References:
Haidula, T. (2019). Two confirmed dead in Ongwediva accident. Retrieved 20 August 2019,
from https://www.namibian.com.na/188242/archive-read/Two-confirmed-dead-in-
Ongwediva-accident
Kaapanda, V. (2019). Robbers killed while being chased after robbery. Retrieved 20 August
2019, from https://neweralive.na/posts/robbers-killed-while-being-chased-after-robbery
NBC. (2019). Two die and four injured at Ongwediva freak accident [Video].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc2gPIbEqcU
Omalaeti Technologies. (2019). NamPol rules out robbery links to Ongwediva road accident.
Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.lelamobile.com/content/80184/NamPol-
rules-out-robbery-links-to-Ongwediva-road-accident/
Omalaeti Technologies. (2019). Ogwediva accident claims two lives. Retrieved 20 August 2019,
from https://www.lelamobile.com/content/80091/Ogwediva-accident-claims-two-lives/

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Omalaeti Technologies. (2019). Ongwediva road accident victims identified. Retrieved 20
August 2019, from https://www.lelamobile.com/content/80107/Ongwediva-road-
accident-victims-identified/
Appendix:
Figure 1: Victim’s Car Damaged
Figure 2: Accused Woman’s car hitting a boundary

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Figure 3: Amarok damaged in the side of the road