Kyankwanzi accident kills 4

Residents look at the wreckage of the taxi. Photos by Ismael Kasooha

ACCIDENT

Four people perished in a motor accident when a taxi rammed into a motorcycle rider who was carrying milk on Sunday morning.

Eyewitnesses told New Vision that the accident happened at around 7:30am on Sunday at Kikonda trading centre on the Hoima-Kampala road when Taxi registration number UBF 037D veered off the road.

The officer in charge of traffic police in Kyankwanzi district, Shaban Teko, identified the deceased persons as Edward Butera, 22, resident of Kikonda who was riding a motorcycle, Sulaiman Mageni 43, a resident of Nakaloke in Mbale district, Paulo Alisingura, 34, a resident of Kasenyi village in Kakumiro district and Godfrey Mutiibwa, 30 from Kamuli district.

Teko said three people died on the spot while the fourth was pronounced dead soon after arrival at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital.

He said that bodies of the deceased were taken to Kiboga Hospital mortuary while the injured were rushed to various health facilities in Hoima and Kyankwanzi.

One of the survivors, Emmanuel Kafuta, who was travelling in the taxi told New Vision that the driver was driving at high speed when the motorcycle rider who was travelling in same direction branched off to the right and due to the high speed, the vehicle rammed into him.

"When the cyclist turned to his right, the vehicle rammed into him and lifted him to the windscreen and we drove for some metres before the driver lost control and the vehicle overturned several times," said Kafuta.

Kafuta said when the vehicle went down the first time he was left on the ground with some other as it continued rolling.

He said they left Kampala Taxi Park at around 5:00pm and were heading to Hoima. Kafuta added that before the accident happened two passengers had just disembarked, and the front seats were vacant.

Teko, the officer in charge of the Traffic Kyankwanzi district said that the driver of the Taxi could not be traced, and police are investigating the exact cause of the accident.

Meanwhile, residents of Kikonda trading center are appealing to the government to put road humps in their trading center because accidents are claiming many of them due to over speeding.

They said that motorists do not mind reducing speed when they reach the trading center which is very busy leading to loss of lives.

"We appeal to the government to put road humps in our trading center so that motorists can reduce speed when they go through this busy area," said one of the residents.