Muano Mashau, a 13-year-old Grade 6 pupil of Mugidane Primary School, died after she was hit by a car as she crossed the D3715 Sinthumule/Kutama Road in Tshiozwi – known lately as the "Road of Death".
Sunday's incident left hundreds of residents from her home village of Tshiozwi in mourning, while her parents are grappling to come to terms with the death of their child. Only last week the Limpopo Mirror reported on a head-on collision on the same road, killing one person.
Muano and her older sister were on their way back home from a local church when they crossed the road at around 12:30. How only Muano was hit by the car, when the two of them were apparently walking hand in hand, is not clear.
A man who prefers to remain anonymous witnessed the incident. He said they heard a sound and, upon rushing to the spot, found the young girl lying next to the road with blood oozing from her nostrils and mouth. "I could not believe what I was seeing. It was very strange. I have never seen something like this before. This was an accident for sure, not deliberate, as the driver was also very shocked afterwards," he said.
"Traffic officers continually urge both motorists and pedestrians to exercise extreme caution when using our roads, to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in which lives are lost unnecessarily," he added.
At the scene of the accident, Muano's father, Mr Mboneni Mashau, and other family members could not hide their grief and cried hysterically. Some community members comforted them as the body lay covered in the road. The road remained closed for hours while they waited for the government hearse to transport the body to the mortuary. Mashau was devastated by the loss of his lovely daughter.
"I cannot believe that such a thing could happen to my daughter. She did not deserve to die. I am heartbroken," he cried. He said that many drivers on this road speeded and that speed bumps should be installed.
The chairperson of the Tshiozwi Civic Association, Mr Shaft Matumba, said he always complained about speeding in the area. "We are greatly saddened that innocent lives are lost this way. We just hope the government will hear our plight and erect speed humps, as motorists are speeding beyond the stipulated 60 km per hour," he said.
Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed the incident, saying that a case of culpable homicide had been opened.