“The dead included a five-month-old female baby, three women and five men, all passengers in the taxi, its driver inclusive. The bodies were taken to Iganga Hospital mortuary pending post-mortem,” Traffic Police spokesperson, Micheal Kananura said.
Nine people including a five months old baby were on Saturday confirmed dead following a fatal accident that occurred on Friday night at Musita, Mayuge district along the Jinja-Iganga Highway.
The accident occurred at around 11:45 when a commuter taxi number UBE 939H rammed into a stationary trailer registration RAC 603Q/RL 1055 which had broken down along the highway due to a mechanical fault and had not put any emergency warning signs/reflectors to alert other road users.
Micheal Kananura the traffic police Spokesperson confirmed the death of the nine people of which four died on spot and five from the hospital where they rushed while in critical conditions.
“The dead included a five-month-old female baby, three women and five men, all passengers in the taxi, its driver inclusive. The bodies were taken to Iganga Hospital mortuary pending post-mortem,” Kananura said.
He also said that six other passengers survived with severe injuries and are now receiving treatment from Iganga Hospital. Both motor vehicles were towed to Magamaga police station pending police inspection.
According to the preliminary investigations, the cause of the accident is the trailer which had been packed on the road after a breakdown without any emergency warning signs/reflectors and the fact that the taxi driver was on a terrific speed.
Police warned all drivers not to drive beyond the prescribed speed limits as well as advised motorists to have emergency warning signs/ reflectors which must be used in case their motor vehicles break down along the way.
As we get closer to the festive season, accidents in Uganda tend to increasingly happen, leaving scores of road users dead. Last year alone, around the two months of November and December, an estimated number of over 200 lives were lost in various road accidents including the former Serere County MP Patrick Okabe and his Wife who perished in an accident along the Mbale-Tirinyi Road which occurred in December.