Car crash kills three family members

Three family members, including the widow of a Portuguese entrepreneur who was recently shot by armed robbers in Blantyre, died yesterday morning after their vehicle overturned at Linthipe ll in Dedza, police confirmed.

The vehicle, a Toyota Hilux double cabin pick-up registration Silva 1, had six passengers, including two children. They were travelling from Blantyre to Lilongwe on family errands.

Dedza Police Station spokesperson Edward Kabango confirmed the accident. He said it happened around 9am after the vehicle’s front left-hand side tyre burst about 300 metres from Linthipe ll Bridge.

The widow, 38-year-old Sally da Silva, died on the spot along with her cousin, Sandra Godino, 30, and her seven-year-old son, Keyani Godino.

Silva’s two sons, Jason aged eight and 20-year-old Manuel, who was driving the vehicle, survived with minor injuries and bruises, according to police.

Kabango said one passenger, Hebert Fletcher, 64, who was an uncle to the late Sally, broke his arm and was admitted to Dedza District Hospital whereas Manuel and Jason were treated as out-patients.

The late Sally and her son Jason were key witnesses in the murder case of businessperson, 67-year-old Serafim Fernando da Silva, a resident of Manja Township.

The two were in the same vehicle when Da Silva was shot dead by the assailants who also went away with K2 million cash and have already identified two main suspects nabbed by police in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, St Paul’s Anglican Church Cathedral in Blantyre, where the late Sally was a Sunday school teacher, has consoled the bereaved over the untimely demise of their member.

According to Kabango, the deceased came from Jekete Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mpama in Chiradzulu.