Busia bound taxi rams into sugarcane truck, all occupants die
A total of 15 people have died in a road accident involving a speeding taxi and a stationary Tata truck carrying sugarcane in the wee hours of Friday morning.
“The accident happened at around 4 am when a taxi registration number UBD 089A that was traveling from Namayingo to Busia rammed into a sugarcane truck that had been abandoned one the road and all the occupants of the taxi died on spot,” James Mubi, the Busoga East Police spokesperson told the Nile Post.
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He explained that though the exact cause of the accident is not yet known, preliminary investigations show that the stationary sugarcane truck, registration number UWP 616 at Imanyiro village in Mayuge district could have caused the accident.
“There was no injured person in the accident. They all died on spot and the bodies have been taken to Mayuge health centre IV for postmortem examination as investigations into the accident continue.”
Past incidents
In December 2019, six people died on spot and many others sustained injuries in an accident at Musita trading centre in Mayuge district along the Iganga-Jinja highway, when a Fuso truck loaded with bags of sugar lost control as it entered the highway and rammed into a group of people and houses.
A report released last year indicated that 30% which is more than a quarter of Uganda’s population has been victim to road accidents.
The report titled 'Health Check; Ugandans’ experiences and opinions on health services' released by Twaweza from data collected from 1913 respondents across the country indicated that three out of 10 Ugandans have experienced an accident or injury in the past six months, either personally or through a friend or household member.
According to the report, 4% of the population said they had personally been involved in road accidents whereas 28% said the accidents involved their close friends or relatives.
The report also indicated that more than half (53%) of these had been victims of accidents brought about or involving accidents.
The annual police traffic report for the year 2018 indicated that 14416 people were involved in various accidents and 3689 of these had died.
The report also pointed out that out of every 100 crashes, 29 people died.
It was indicated that of the 3689 who died in 2018, 878 of them were boda boda riders, 202 vehicle drivers, 160 riders of bicycles, 380 passengers on boda bodas and 563 passengers traveling in other vehicles.
Pedestrians at 39% followed by passengers and cyclists at 28% were the most affected road users in the 2018 traffic report.
The report also indicated that more males at 79% (2,920) were killed in traffic crashes compared to 21% females (769) who were killed under the same period.
