Police patrol car crashes pursuing 'errant' motorist, six officers injured
Six policemen were on board when the patrol vehicle crashed. PHOTO / FAHAD MALIK JJINGO
Six police officers have been rushed to Masaka regional referral hospital after the patrol vehicle in which they were travelling got involved in an accident this morning.
The accident occurred at Kidda Village, in Masaka City along Masaka- Kidda road, when a speeding police patrol truck registration number UP 5561 lost control and veered off the road with six policemen on board.
Two of the officers are said to have been in critical condition while the rest sustained minor injuries.
According to eyewitnesses, the police patrol vehicle was pursuing a car that had refused to stop at a checkpoint that had been mounted on Masaka- Kidda road.
Mr Ronald Mutabazi, one of the eye witnesses, says that the speeding police truck failed to negotiate a sharp corner at Kidda Village when the car veered off the road, and fell into a trench.
"We were at the stage when a speeding Premio passed us and then we saw a police truck going after it before suddenly veering off the road,” Andrew Mwanje, a boda boda cyclist said.
The southern regional police spokesperson, Mr Muhamad Nsubuga, confirmed the incident saying the police officers had rushed to Masaka Hospital for treatment and are in stable condition.
Nsubuga, however, dismissed claims that the police vehicle was pursuing a motorist who had refused to stop at a police checkpoint.
"The police truck was involved in a minor crash after the braking system got a mechanical problem but it did not hit anyone, in the process it just lost a rear mirror but it's not true that they were chasing anyone,” he said.
