Soroti – Twenty four students of Midland High School in Kaberamaido district are still admitted and being managed for fractured bones at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital following a fatal road crash that left two students dead on Thursday morning in Soroti city.
The senior four and six students were heading to Jinja city for a study tour when the bus registration number UG 1915E which they were travelling in belonging to Busitema University Arapai campus rammed into a stationary trailer from behind.
The bus in question was carrying sixty four students. Dr Anathius Eryegu, the in-charge of the emergency unit at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital says some of the injured students have undergone operation.
“They have already worked on four patients, and many of them have come out and they are stable. So at the moment the team that was mobilized is still handling those students and for now many of them are stable,” adding that no new deaths have been registered apart from the two who died from the accident scene.
Dr. Eryegu meanwhile noted that the Soroti Regional Hospital lacks an accident and emergency unit which hampers their operation many times though he said that the casualties from Thursday’s accident were attended to from the hospital wards, and they are recuperating well.
In a July 2023 traffic accident report released by the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety of the Uganda Police, a total of 432 accidents were recorded, with 97 being fatal, 202 were serious, and 133 were minor. Among the 424 victims, 100 lost their lives, while 324 sustained injuries.
The fatalities included 42 motorcycle riders (13 passengers and 29 riders) as well as 40 pedestrians.
The Traffic police continue to urge road users to respect one another, and the Traffic Directorate emphasizes the need for vigilance and responsible behaviour while using the road.
According to the 2022 Uganda Police Crime Report, there was a 35% increase in common traffic offenses registered by the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety countrywide, from 336,722 cases in 2021 5o 456,993 cases in 2022.
The number of road traffic crashes also increased by 16.9% from 17,443 in 2021, where 3,901 crashes were fatal, 10,776 were serious and 5,717 were minor by nature. Most accidents on Uganda roads are due to reckless driving and failure to follow traffic rules and road signs by motorists.
