The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Dozens were injured after a truck rammed into taxis, a bus and boda bodas at the Kira Road Police traffic lights this evening. Unconfirmed reports said one person died at accident spot despite a massive rescue effort by bystanders and the Red Cross.
CCTV footage showed the truck seemingly failing to break and crashing into traffic at the junction.
The accident involved a L8000 Ford Truck that was said to be ferrying tiles. A traffic police officer at the scene said the truck was in a dangerous mechanical condition, a reason it could have lost control.
A Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage shared by police officers shows the truck lost control soon after it crossed the Bukoto Road junction near Radio Simba.
The nasty accident that happened at Kiira road traffic lights.
*trailer failed to break and rammed into stationary cars and boda bodas. pic.twitter.com/dukJd5vtS5
— ands JEFF (@andsjeff) April 24, 2019
Most of the injured passengers who were in the taxis were removed by good samaritans who used axes and other metallic objects to cut frames of the crashed cars. Some passengers with fractured legs were trapped and it took more than two hours to remove them.
Thomas Tugume, a hawker said he saw the truck moving at a high speed and alerted his colleagues who fled the scene.
“I think we could have been victims of this accident but God was with us. I saw and I alerted my three colleagues. We stood aside and we had no way we could have alerted people in other cars since they had been stopped by traffic lights,” Tugume said.
State Minister for Transport, Aggrey Henry Bagire, who arrived at the scene of the accident praised people who managed to rescue the victims.
By press time number of survivors and fatalities had not been established as witnesses gave contradicting figures.
May those who died rest in eternal peace and may God continue to heal those who engaged in accident and they are still breathing
God provides and takes!
Thanks to the government for the introduction of CCTV cameras, now road users should know, what ever criminal acts committed, accountability is key. No room for exit.
We are so sorry for those who lost their beloved ones may their soul rest in eternal peace. But the government should introduce more cameras on roads hope that camera helped to show how accident happened.