Fourteen people, including a commuter taxi driver, have been killed after a sand-laden truck reportedly crossed into the opposite lane and collided head-on with a passenger taxi on the Masaka-Kampala Highway in central Uganda, police have said.
The crash happened at about 11:40pm on Monday at Kamuwunga Trading Centre along the Lwera swamp section of the highway in Kalungu District.
Police said the taxi, a white Toyota Hiace registration UA 662AQ, was travelling from Kampala to Masaka when it was struck by an oncoming red Sino truck, registration UBS 040F.
The taxi driver, Abdul Karim Ssembatya, a resident of Masaka City, died at the scene alongside 13 passengers.
According to preliminary investigations, the truck driver was transporting sand and allegedly attempted to avoid road humps that had been installed on his lane because of ongoing road construction.
Police said the manoeuvre caused the truck to cross into the lane of the approaching taxi.
“The truck driver, who was transporting sand, attempted to avoid road humps installed on his lane due to ongoing road construction. In the process, he allegedly veered into the opposite lane and collided with the taxi, which was travelling on its correct side of the road,” police said.
The force added that the impact locked the two vehicles together, with the heavily loaded truck pushing the taxi backwards for about 30 metres.
The truck driver fled the scene and remains at large.
The victims have been identified as Alice Gracious Alobo, 30, from Opit Town Council in Omoro District; Moses Kizza, 30, of Kyetume in Kyotera District; Joanita Natondwa, 23, of Masaka City; Aidah Namajja, 52, of Masaka City; Lawrence Ssebuuma, 34, of Mabaale-Kifuufu in Kyotera District; Margaret Nabbosa, 36, of Zirobwe Town Council in Luwero District; Veronica Nabbulime and her juvenile daughter; Kizza Moses, 27; Innocent Irora, 39, of Kyegegwa Town Council and an employee of the Coca-Cola plant in Namanve; Police Sergeant Nabukeya, service number 44616, whose duty station had not been established; and two unidentified adult men.
Four people survived the collision, including Edward Kaiga, 22, who was travelling in the truck, two unidentified male taxi passengers and another unidentified man who had been aboard the truck.
The injured were taken to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital by the Red Cross, while the bodies of those killed were transferred to the hospital mortuary for post-mortem examinations.
Traffic officers from Masaka East, the Kalungu District Police Commander and other officers examined the crash scene before towing both vehicles to Lukaya Police Yard for inspection.
Police have launched investigations and are searching for the truck driver, who remains on the run.
“The suspected cause of the crash is reckless driving by the driver of the Sino truck,” police said.
