Gateway Bus Crash Victim Lies In Hospital

ONE person died on the spot and many others were injured over the weekend when their bus hit a barrier on the Kampala-Gulu Highway, reports Elizabeth Kameo. The dead was identified as Collin Ocaya, the turn boy. One unidentified passenger was admitted to Gulu Hospital in a critical condition. The Kampala-bound Gateway bus from Arua in which they were, had its right front tyre burst at a Olwiyo, about 57km from Karuma bridge. The manager of Gateway bus service in Arua, Jimmy Awuzu, said, "The accident happened at around 9:30am on Saturday morning after the right front tyre burst." Awuzu said although the driver had tried to control the bus, it evntually hit a barrier at the roadside. He denied the claims that the bus was overloaded and overspeeding. "The bus which had a passenger capacity of 59, had only 54 passengers and five crew members on board. It was not overloaded and was not overspeeding," Awuzu said. He blamed the accident on the poor condition of the road saying, "The road is very rough," he said, adding that the rough road coupled with heat affected vehicle tyres. Most of the passengers who had been admitted to Gulu Hospital had by Monday evening, been discharged and continued with their journey to Kampala. Ends