BUKEDEA: A total of 40 casualties from the Tuesday night accident in Bukedea district are undergoing treatment at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
The head-on-collision involving two buses, a Wanagon Isuzu Coach UAR 293M and a Gateway Nissan UAH 781Z, happened around 10:00pm near Opiko stage in Kachumbala Sub County.
The Wanagon Coach was returning to Soroti from Kampala, while the Gateway Bus was heading to Kampala from Moroto. According to the police, two male adults died on the spot while another female adult died on her way to Kumi Orthopedic Hospital.
In a statement released by Police Public Relations Officer in charge of Traffic and Road Safety, Faridah Nampiima, on Wednesday morning, 40 casualties were evacuated from the buses and rushed for treatment in Mbale. They included 25 male adults, ten female adults, four male juveniles, and one female juvenile.
The police preliminary findings indicate that the cause of the accident was the Gateway Bus driver, who tried to overtake in a corner but failed to keep his side, hence knocking the oncoming bus head on.
Nampiima said that the driver of the Gateway bus is on the run while the Wanagon Coach driver was rushed to Mbale Referral Hospital for treatment. The identities of the victims of the accident have not yet been released by the police or Mbale Hospital.
However, the East Kyoga Regional Police Spokesman, Oscar Gregg Ageca, says that two UPDF officers and a policeman are among the casualties. He identifies them as Sgt. Ongodia, a UPDF officer attached to Gadaffi Military Barracks, and Sgt. Alone Mumbere, attached to Napak district. The police officer, Musa Forgod, is attached to Serere CPS.
Brenda Ristana, a mother of four children who is one of the survivors, says she had slept off when the accident happened. Ristana, who was on her way to Kampala for treatment, says she woke up because of the loud sound of the collision. She is among the five passengers who survived without physical injuries. Her four children were equally unharmed.
