The ManicaPost
The vehicle comes to a halt after crashing into Sanhanga Building in Mutare city
Abel Zhakata: Senior Weekender Reporter
. . . as driver is forced to jump out to safety
THE driver of a Bakers Inn delivery van that crashed into a two-storey building in Mutare last Thursday after he came face-to-face with a snake on the dashboard and lost control of the vehicle said he missed death by a whisker.Julius Hozheri of Number 21 Banes Fairbridge Park had to jump out of the moving vehicle as the unwelcome visitor was taking aim to strike him.
With no one behind the steering wheel, the van rammed into Sanhanga Building and extensively damaged the entrance of a financial institution. Hozheri, who was at pains to describe his miraculous escape, said this week that the snake came from nowhere.
“As I was approaching the intersection the snake sprang into the car through my window and landed on the dashboard. I was stone shocked. I was right in the middle of the CBD and I least expected to come across a snake.
“Instinctively I dashed to the passenger’s side, opened the door and rolled out of the car. The van is an automatic one and I had no time to put it in park or apply the hand brake. So it moved into the intersection and rammed into the building.
“At first people could not believe what I was telling them. They said there was nowhere a snake could get into the car at the intersection right in the middle of the city. Some said I was hallucinating while others said I was trying to cover up negligent driving by attributing the accident to wild assertions. People started to believe me when they found the snake in the damaged car,” he said and added:
“They could not believe their eyes. All of a sudden some started talking about witchcraft and all sort of voodoo related explanations. What I knew was that I was alive and I had escaped from the jaws of death.”
Some witnesses took a video of the snake while it was still in the car and the clip has since gone viral on social media.
Manicaland police spokesman Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa said the accident was hard to believe.
“You can only understand what happened if you talk to the driver. His statement to the police suggests that he saw a snake in the van and he then jumped out fearing for his life. This resulted in the accident as the vehicle was left unattended resulting in it crashing into the building,” he said.
On the video clip the snake, which is believed to be the stubborn Eastern brown snake, moves to the passenger seat and clings on to the open door which was left ajar by Hozheri as it rolls out of the vehicle.
The reptile, apparently hiding from the restive crowd slips into the door panel and took refuge. According to the online Wikipedia, the Eastern brown snake is diurnal, which means that it is active during the day.
It is notorious for its speed and aggression and when highly agitated or provoked the snake holds its necks high, appearing in an upright S-shape. Often referred to as the common brown snake, it is a species of venomous elapid snake of the genus Pseudonaja.
This snake is considered as one of the most venomous land snakes in Africa.
