Jinja, Uganda: Three people have been confirmed dead, and 11 others remain nursing injuries in hospital following a horrific road crash involving a commuter taxi and a trailer at Kakira Junction along the Jinja-Iganga Highway in the early hours of Thursday.
According to Kiira Regional Police Spokesperson SP James Mubi, the accident occurred after the taxi reportedly lost control before crashing. Preliminary investigations indicate that the driver veered off the road, rammed into a roadside tree and overturned several times before colliding with the trailer.
The injured were rushed to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, where hospital sources told DailyExpress that seven victims are in critical condition with severe head injuries, while four others are in stable condition receiving treatment. The bodies of the deceased were taken to the hospital mortuary for postmortem examinations.
Witnesses said the victims remained trapped inside the mangled wreckage for more than 10 minutes before rescuers managed to free them.
Steven Balaza, a boda boda rider who was among the first people to respond, said rescue efforts were initially hampered by the lack of traffic along the highway at that hour.
“Calls for help from the injured initially received little response because there were few road users at the scene at the time of the crash,” Balaza said.
He added that he later joined other volunteers and security personnel to pull survivors from the wreckage before ambulances transported them to hospital.
Police say investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash are ongoing.
Mubi said preliminary findings point to reckless driving as the likely cause of the accident, although investigators are examining all possible factors.
“Police are working with emergency medical responders to ensure the injured receive the necessary treatment while efforts continue to establish the identities of both the deceased and the injured so that their families can be informed,” Mubi said.
He added that the wreckage of the taxi has been handed over to the Inspector of Vehicles (IOV) for a mechanical examination to determine whether the vehicle was roadworthy before the crash.
By press time, police had not yet released the identities of the deceased or the injured as efforts to notify their next of kin continued.
The latest tragedy has renewed concerns over safety along the Jinja-Iganga Highway, a corridor that has witnessed numerous fatal crashes in recent months. Residents and road users have repeatedly called for stricter enforcement of traffic regulations, regular vehicle inspections and improved emergency response systems to reduce fatalities following major accidents.
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