BUDAKA, (UG):- The Police in Budaka District are investigating a serious accident which occurred on the Mbale-Tirinyi Highway at Nabweyo village in Budaka district, involving a vehicle carrying over 70 students from Ngoma Standard Secondary School.
The incident happened on Saturday, September 21, 2024, at around mid-day, following a handover ceremony at a sister school in Kachomo Town Council.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the students, consisting of 30 males and 41 females, were transported in an Isuzu Elf (registration UAS 317S) led by the school’s headteacher, Fred Mayanja.
Eyewitnesses report suggests that the headteacher recklessly loaded the students into the vehicle for the return trip after the ceremony and as the vehicle made its way back to school around 6:20 PM, it reportedly experienced a brake failure.
Incidentally, the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to reverse and overturn, resulting in critical injuries to approximately 60 students. Following the accident, the driver fled the scene.
Emergency responders quickly arrived, transporting seven critically injured students to Mbale Referral Hospital, while the remaining injured students received treatment at Budaka Health Center IV.
Police authorities who visited the scene of accident determined that the vehicle was in poor mechanical condition, unable to safely handle such a heavy load.
Samuel Semewo, the Ag. PRO for Bukedi North Region, stated, “The investigation into the incident is ongoing, with police examining the circumstances surrounding the headteacher’s decision to overload the vehicle and the vehicle’s maintenance history”.
He added that towed the vehicle to the Budaka police parking yard for further inspection.
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