ill-fated Hillcrest bus driver was ‘drunk’

The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has established that the driver of the Mitsubishi Rosa bus belonging to Hillcrest National Technical High School involved in a road accident in Choma last week where 4 pupils and a teacher died on the spot while another died in hospital, was intoxicated with alcohol.

RTSA Head Public Relations Fredrick Mubanga says preliminary investigations conducted by the RTSA have revealed that the driver Joseph Kafwimbi Mwape was driving under the influence of alcohol contrary to section 157 of the Road Traffic Act Number 11 of the Laws of Zambia.

Mr Mubanga explains that according to the blood and urine alcohol analysis conducted by the Food and Drugs Control Laboratory at the University Teaching Hospital, the spacemen for Joseph Kafwimbi Mwape was reactive to alcohol.

He adds that the blood and urine alcohol analysis further revealed that Joseph Kafwimbi Mwape’s blood contained 370 milligrams of alcohol while the urine contained 400 milligrams of alcohol indicating a minimum consumption of about 12 bottles of beer or 345 milligrams of spirit.

Mr Mubanga says the Agency is at pains to understand why the school authorities at Hillcrest National Technical High School could have allowed such a driver to be in charge of the bus and thereby compromising the safety of the pupils.

He states that the Agency further questions why the school authorities allowed pupils to be driven at night.

Mr Mubanga says it is evident that there was negligence on the part of the school authorities and the Agency therefore recommends that the Ministry of General Education to institute appropriate action against the school authorities.