TWO motor accidents occurred on the Jinja-Iganga highway on Tuesday, killing a person and injuring several others. One of the accidents took place near the Kakira Sugar Works factory junction where another accident took place the previous day.
One person was killed when a trailer knocked a taxi as both vehicles were heading to Jinja from Iganga. The south eastern regional traffic officer, Hellen Apolot, identified the deceased as Patrick Isabirye, a worker at Kirinya Road in Jinja town.
She said two passengers in the taxi, Jamada Wankulo, a resident of Iganga, sustained serious head injuries, and the other whose identities could not be established, was also injured.
They were rushed to Jinja Hospital. “The taxi driver reduced speed, while approaching the humps near the Kakira junction from Iganga but the trailer came at a terrific speed and knocked it from behind pushing it off the road. It eventually hit a big stone and killed a person instantly,†Apolot said. She added that after the accident the driver of the trailer sped off.
The second accident that occurred at about 11:30a.m was at Mailo-Mbili near the railway crossing on the same highway. A Toyota Carina with Kenyan registration numbers knocked a boda-boda motorcyclist, injuring him.
Dominic Dulu, an witness, said the boda-boda rider, only identified as Musiramu, who operates at Kamuli stage, was trying to dodge a pot-hole when the a speeding Toyota Carina car knocked him.
“The Carina driver, Stephen Tenywa, feared to collide with a trailer that was parked in front and swerved off the highway into a trench,†Dulu narrated.
Apolot blamed the two accidents on reckless driving, adding that many drivers do not respect other road users.
The accidents come a day after a bus of Bubulo Girls School in Manafwa district that was carrying students to Kampala, knocked a taxi with pupils from different schools in Jinja town, killing two of them and injuring several others.
One killed, several hurt in Jinja road accidents
