Eleven people injured in Lira-Kitgum road accident

By Patrick Okino

Eleven people sustained serious injuries and were immediately rushed to Lira regional hospital on Saturday when the vehicle they were traveling in got involved in an accident along Lira-Kitgum road.

The truck from Kalongo to Lira, loaded with millet, sorghum, dry cassava and charcoals hit a huge pothole at Ogur Sub-county at around 2pm and overturned, causing injuries to several people.

The officer in-charge at Agweng police station, Nickson Okite attributed the accident to overloading, the poor road and bad seating on the truck.

He told New Vision online that the driver took off after the accident but the controller also broke his leg and is among the people under medical attention at Lira hospital.

“It was because of the bad road and overloading,” Okite said, adding that the details of the driver and those who sustained fractures both on the legs and arms were yet to be established.

However, Augustine Ociti, one of the passengers said the truck was not over-speeding but was only forced to overturn when the driver attempted to dodge the pothole.

The road has developed huge potholes since it started raining in March and no effort has been made by the central government to repair it.

“There are many blackspots on this road and we are urging the government to rebuild or else accident cases will continue,” Ociti said.