Kibuku, Uganda: Three people, including two retired Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officers, were seriously injured in the early hours of Friday after a Nissan pickup crashed into a stationary trailer that had been involved in an earlier road accident along the busy Tirinyi–Iganga Highway.
The crash occurred at about 2:00 a.m. at Tirinyi Trading Centre in Kibuku District, where police had already responded to an earlier collision involving two heavy trucks.
According to Bukedi North Regional Police spokesperson ASP Wilfred Kyempasa, the victims were identified as Geofrey Shimanya, 68, a retired army officer from Bunabutye Sub-county in Manafwa District, who was driving the Nissan pickup registration UAR 724Y, Alex Masete, 62, another retired army officer from Busiu Trading Centre in Manafwa District, and Alice Lunyolo, 23, a resident of Samaga in Mbale District.
The three sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Dr George Clinic in Tirinyi for emergency medical treatment.
Preliminary police investigations indicate that the incident was triggered by an earlier collision involving a Mercedes-Benz Actros trailer, registration UBA 537Y/UBD 535Q, travelling from Iganga towards Mbale, and a Shackman low-bed truck, registration UBR 066Z/TUA 102AA, which was travelling in the opposite direction while transporting a grader.
Police said the two heavy trucks sideswiped each other as they attempted to pass, with the oversized grader damaging the trailer and leaving part of the roadway obstructed.
Traffic police responded immediately, placing reflective warning triangles and directing motorists around the accident scene to prevent further collisions.
However, the Nissan pickup, which was travelling from Mbale towards Iganga, reportedly approached the scene at high speed and rammed into the damaged trailer before the driver could stop.
ASP Kyempasa said officers documented the scene, prepared a sketch plan and towed the damaged vehicles to Tirinyi Police Station pending mechanical inspection.
Police have attributed the initial crash to a sideswipe involving the wide-load truck transporting the grader, while investigations into the second collision involving the Nissan pickup are ongoing.
The latest accident adds to growing concern over nighttime crashes along the Tirinyi–Iganga Highway, one of eastern Uganda’s busiest transport corridors linking Kampala to Mbale, Soroti and neighbouring countries.
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