One killed, 15 others injured in Iganga accident

One person was on Saturday evening killed and fifteen others injured in an accident that occurred along the Iganga-Jinja highway.

The deceased was identified as Mr Mr Habib Sowedi, the head teacher of Namwiwa Primary School in Kaliro District. The fifteen were admitted at Iganga Hospital in critical condition, according to Iganga District Police Commander, Mr David Ndaula.

The accident, which involved three vehicles and a boda boda, occurred after a sugarcane truck veered off its course and fell on two passenger vehicles.

According to eyewitness accounts, truck registration number UBG 961A that was carrying sugarcanes towards Jinja, lost control, overturned and fell on two taxis which were offloading passengers on the road reserve.

Both taxis were heading towards Iganga.

Mr Musa Etumye, who witnessed the incident, said the driver of the truck was trying to save a boda boda who was in front.

“The truck was speeding and as the driver tried to avoid hitting the boda boda, it overturned and the canes covered the taxis which were packed by the roadside,” Mr Etumye said.

Traffic police from Iganga Police Station rushed to the scene but found when the truck driver had fled.

Residents said the truck driver was over speeding yet the area is a well-known blackspot.

"We need huge humps in this area because the ones in place are not being respected by motorists,” said Mr Abu Musita, a resident of Walugogo Village.

The Iganga Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Eva Kwesiga, attributed the accident to reckless driving by the truck driver and urged government to come up with stringent regulations against sugarcane trucks.

“Cases of sugarcane trucks causing accidents are on the rise; they are overloaded while some drivers take drugs. There should be stringent regulations to guide them,” she said.

The body of the deceased was taken to Iganga Hospital mortuary as investigations continue.