By Frank Kamuntu
Four people died and seven others sustained grave injuries after getting involved in a terrible accident on Thursday afternoon at Bugombwa hill, in Busaru sub-county, along the Lamia-Nyahuka Road in Bundibugyo district.
The tragedy occurred after a trailer collided with two motorcycles, killing four people on spot and leaving seven others critically injured.
Eyewitnesses reveal that the driver is believed to have lost control of the timber-laden truck which was heading from the Democratic Republic of Congo towards Kampala side.
Benon Habarurema, the Bundibugyo District Traffic Officer, said
“The fatal accident was caused by a semi-trailer registration number UAU 180L, which collided with two Bajaj motorcycles registration numbers UEX 326M and UEV 648L respectively, after the truck’s brakes failed, which resulted into a head-on with the motorcycles.”
He added that “The police are working hard to identify the deceased although the injured have since been rushed to hospital for medical attention.” He noted that the deceased include an adult female, male and a teenager whose bodies were taken to Bundibugyo Main Hospital for postmortem. Initial reports indicated that the trailer had eight occupants on board; three Ugandans and five Congolese.
It is understood that the driver and other five survivors of the crash are admitted at Bundibugyo General Hospital in critical condition. They include; Sam Kagwa, the driver, his turn-man Vincent Sserwada and Kennedy Makude.
“We suspect the cause of the accident was the brakes failure because one of the passengers told me the vehicle was moving at a slow speed but when they reached the corner, it increased speed and didn’t stop,” Habarurema said.
Serwadda, one of the survivors, told this reporter that they were taking timber to Kampala for sale.
“I was sleeping in the cabin of the trailer at the time of the accident and only woke up after hearing a loud bang and found the trailer upside down,” he said.
