Government vehicle knocks five-year-old boy dead, injures two – police
The government vehicle which police in Namutumba District say fatally knocked a five-year-old boy and injured his mother and another relative on Sunday. PHOTO BY RONALD SEEBE
A family in Buyanga Village, Nawaikona Sub-county in Namutumba District has had its weekend ruined after a five-year-old was knocked dead, leaving the mother and another relative seriously injured.
The accident occurred on Sunday at around 3.20pm at Bushalif Trading Centre, Nawaikona Sub-county along the Tirinyi-Mbale highway, two miles from Namutumba Town.
According to the officer-in-charge of traffic in Namutumba District, Mr Johnson Yeheyo, the trio was knocked by a government vehicle.
"Double cabin registration number UG 2508A belonging to Amuria District Local Government, that was travelling from Iganga, wanted to overtake a police water truck registration number UP 4681, but veered off its course and knocked the trio," he said.
Mr Yeheyo, who added that the five-year-old boy died instantly while the injured were rushed to Iganga-Nakavule hospital, attributed the accident to reckless driving by the government vehicle.
Corroborated eyewitness accounts suggest the driver of the double cabin vehicle was speeding.
By press time police had not named the deceased while the driver is detained at Namutumba Police Station.
