Retired police officer among three killed in Kiryandongo road accident
Deceased: Retired police officer, Michael Orech. COURTESY/PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The deceased are Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP-Rtd) Michael Orech, 61, his elder brother Francis Ogwal, 69, and another unidentified man from Oyam District.
Three people including a retired police officer have died and five others severely injured after getting involved in a nasty road accident along Gulu-Kampala highway.
The accident, which occurred Tuesday morning at Alengo Village, Diima Parish, Diima Sub-county in Kiryandongo District involved a Toyota Hiace Reg no UBG 443T and a Sino truck Reg no UAP 511J.
The ill-fated Toyota car, which was coming from Lira side with seven passengers on board destined for Kampala, reportedly hit a truck which was parked by the road with a mechanical fault. Eyewitness Mr Cossy Fazil said the vehicle overturned several times.
The accident claimed three lives on spot.
The deceased are Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP-Rtd) Michael Orech, 61, his elder brother Francis Ogwal, 69, and another unidentified man from Oyam District.
The former Community Liaison Officer (CLO) and his brother were all residents of Lira City.
The injured are; Mr Patrick Otim, 34, Emmanuel Omara, 3, Mr Joshua Otika, 27, Ms Jenifer Alele,27, and a child Priscilla Mbabazi- all receiving treatment at Kiryandongo Hospital.
Orech was reportedly taking his brother for treatment to Mulago hospital in Kampala at the time death struck.
The Albertine region police spokesperson, Mr Julius Hakiza confirmed the accident saying police have commenced investigations into the matter.
“Motor vehicles were towed and are now parked at Diima Police Station as investigations into the matter are ongoing,” he said via telephone on Tuesday.
The bodies were taken to Kiryandongo hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.
Mr Charles Owengom, Diima LC3 chairperson, urged drivers to put indicators on the road in case of a mechanical breakdown on their vehicles.
“As leaders, we are not happy with what happened in our area. This is an accident which would have been avoided if there was signage on the road,” he told Daily Monitor.
