Truck knocks dead boda boda cyclist, injures 6

Masaka.

One person died on spot and six others survived with severe injuries when a driver lost control of a tipper truck and rammed into several vehicles parked by the roadside in Masaka Municipality on Tuesday.

The accident occurred on a highway in Nyendo Trading Centre after the speeding truck failed to break.

“The boda boda cyclist had just stopped and was waiting for his customer to pay when the tipper hit him and he died instantly,” Ms Joan Nagujja, an eyewitness, said.

Ms Nagujja said the passenger saw the truck heading to where he was standing and jumped away before it knocked an omnibus and two other vehicles.

“The driver, whose identities could not be established by press time, fought hard and dodged the building. He disappeared before the police arrived at the scene,” she said.

The Greater Masaka acting regional traffic officer, Mr James Tibaijuka, attributed the accident to reckless driving and failed brakes.
The deceased was identified as Edrisa Lubega, a resident of Mukungwe Sub-county in Masaka District.

The injured are Mr Jimmy Kato, Mr Siraje Sengendo, Mr Huzairu Sekiranda, Mr Dalaus Bukenya, Mr Peter Jjuuko and Mr Richard Bukenya. They were taken to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital for treatment.

Mr Tibaijuka urged drivers to always check the mechanical condition of their vehicles before loading them with heavy goods.

Statistics
According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013, Uganda is one of the African countries with the highest rate of road accidents. Uganda had 2,954 deaths in 2010 as a result of road accidents. Majority of those who die in road accidents are not in the vehicles that crash. Some 42 out of every 100 that die are pedestrians. Ten per cent are on bicycles and 17 per cent on boda bodas.