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Police on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, said they were hunting for the driver of a truck that crushed at Kiganda on the Kyalulangira-Isingiro road the previous day killing 10 people.

Traffic and Safety Directorate spokesperson Micheal Kananura said the truck was carrying 35 people heading to Isingiro at the time of the crash. The driver immediately fled the crash scene, according to Kananura who added that they are looking for him.

“The territorial traffic Police in Rakai, on Tuesday, March 26, at around 01:30 pm, recorded a single fatal accident involving motor vehicle registration number UAP 559X Canter lorry at Kiganda on the Kyalulangira-Isingiro Road,” Kananura noted.

He explained that preliminary Investigations indicated that the driver of the said motor vehicle was carrying 35 people who were heading to Isingiro.

“He lost control of the vehicle and [it] overturned killing instantly 10 people and injuring 25 others. The traffic Police responded to the scene immediately, and the bodies were transported to Kyalulangira Health Center III for post-mortem examination,” Kananura added.

The driver immediately fled the crash scene, according to Kananura who added that they are looking for him

The victims were also taken to the same health centre for first aid, and they were transferred later to Rakai Hospital for treatment.

He said investigations into the cause of this crash had kicked off.

According to the Police Annual Crime Report for 2023 released by the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoth-Ochola in Kampala last month, the number of reported incidents of road crashes increased by 16 per cent, from 20,394 in 2022 to 23,608 in 2023.

The death toll in road crashes increased by 30 per cent to 4,179 in 2023 from 3,210 in 2022.

“The figure in serious crashes increased to 12,487 in 2023 from 8,860 in 2022. There was a 15.5 per cent increase in common offences registered by the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety countrywide from 456,993 cases registered in 2022 to 528,025 cases in 2023,” said the report.

To curb the alarming accident rates, the police said they had resorted to enforcement of traffic laws and regulations through operations, targeting commercial motorcycle riders, commuter passenger taxis, and other risk factors such as speeding and drunk driving among others.