Truck kills a cyclist in Mzuzu

An unidentified cyclist died Monday evening when he was run over by an articulated truck at Lunyangwa Bridge in Mzuzu.

Confirming the incident Tuesday, Mzuzu Police publicist, Paul Tembo said the deceased was pedaling from the direction of Mzuzu University to town along the Mzuzu-Karonga M1 Road when he met his fate.

“As the cyclist was approaching Lunyangwa Bridge, he was hit by the truck’s trailer, registration number T101 ADJ/T479 AJG, whilst the truck driver tried to overtake him,” said Tembo.

Tembo said police are appealing to the city residents to check if they are missing any relative or person since Monday night and report to police.

“The victim had no any identity card but we assume that he was not a bicycle taxi operator as his bike had no registration or passenger seat to identify him as such.

“Furthermore, he had containers with food stuffs giving us an assumption that he may have been on his way from Mzuzu Central Hospital,” he said.

Tembo identified the truck driver as Eliezer Elifurana Msuya, 40, from Kikavu Chini Village in neighboring Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro District.
“Investigations are still underway to establish who was at fault,” he said.

Since January 2018, Mzuzu City has seen over seven people losing their lives to accidents involving motorists and cyclists.