Three people were killed and two others are being treated in hospital after a two-vehicle collision in Bulawayo early Wednesday morning.

Police said two VW Golf vehicles were travelling west on 12th Avenue Extension, and both drivers planned to turn left into the Bulawayo Athletics Club (BAC) when tragedy struck at around 2AM.

The occupants of the two vehicles were all friends “on a pub crawl”, according to police sources.

Inspector Abednico Ncube of Bulawayo police said: “The vehicle driving in the right lane and slightly behind turned into the other vehicle and hit it on the right rear, close to the fuel tank area, causing the other driver to lose control of his vehicle which veered off the road and smashed into a tree.

“Three people died on the spot while two others were ferried to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for further management.”

Ncube said the cause of the accident was “excessive speeding under the circumstances.”

“A charge of culpable homicide has been preferred against the driver of the vehicle which cause the crash,” Ncube said.

“Motorists are urged to apply themselves fully to save lives and avoid unnecessary accidents.”

One of the dead has been named as Ralph Fikile Mguni, who graduated from the University of Zimbabwe in December last year. He was a passenger in the vehicle sent careering off the road.