Elderly woman killed on Windhoek street

A 72-year-old woman was killed yesterday by a bakkie while she was crossing one of Windhoek’s busiest streets.
The incident, reported to the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund at approximately 11:20, took place on Mandume Ndemufayo Avenue.
The unidentified woman, a resident of the nearby old-age home Susanne Grau Heim, was hit by a Toyota Hilux bakkie whose 39-year-old driver did not manage to stop in time.
By yesterday afternoon efforts were under way to inform her family locally and in Germany.
The police are investigating the matter as part of the routine procedure when a pedestrian is injured or killed. An inquest will determine the charges that will be laid against the unidentified driver of the vehicle.
The head of the traffic management unit of the City Police, Adam Eiseb, said although information was still scant, it appeared that the woman had crossed the street a few metres from the traffic lights where Mandume Ndemufayo and Sam Nujoma Avenue intersect.
He emphasised that while the exact circumstances of the crash were still being investigated, the damage to the vehicle was “quite severe.” This included extensive damage to the fender and bonnet of the vehicle.
He said police investigators would attempt to determine the speed at which the vehicle was driving by looking at physical evidence at the scene as well as interviewing potential witnesses.
The outcome of the investigation will determine the exact charges that will be laid by the prosecutor, apart from the negligent and reckless driving charges that are routinely filed in such cases.
He said the driver stopped at the scene and the initial screening showed that he was not drunk and all papers were in order.