Six people died Tuesday afternoon after a speeding Fuso truck rammed into a Toyota Hiace taxi they were traveling in along the Jinja-Kampala highway. The 1:50 pm road crash that happened near Nile breweries at Nile Village in Njeru Central Division, Njeru Municipal Council, Buikwe District left 11 others seriously hurt, according to police.
The deceased persons who were all passengers in the taxi are yet to be identified, while some of the injured are; Elvis Mandu, 26, Merab Adong, 20, and another one only identified as Kato.
“The other eight injured persons are yet to be identified as they are unable to speak due to severe injuries,” Ssezibwa region police spokesperson, Hellen Butoto said.
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Multiple sources said before the police and Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers arrived to secure the scene, some first responders were seen looting from the victims who were trapped in the wreckages, instead of helping them.
Some of the eyewitnesses who spoke to this reporter said they saw some people taking away mattresses, bags, and mobile phones as survivors pleaded for help. One of the eyewitnesses, Mr. Charles Zziwa, a boda-boda rider at Nile Breweries Ltd stage said the truck was transporting bags of cement at the time of the accident.
It is alleged that the driver of the truck from the Kayunga side heading towards Njeru lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the taxi which was traveling from the Kampala side heading towards Mbale.
“The injured persons have been rushed to Jinja hospital and Nile international hospital respectively for treatment while the six dead bodies have all been conveyed to Jinja hospital mortuary pending postmortem examination,” Ms Butoto added in a Tuesday evening statement.
The wreckage of both motor vehicles are parked at Njeru police station yard pending inspection by IOV as inquiries continue.
