Kampala, 3 people have perished in a nasty road accident that happened in the areas of Nakawa during the wee hours of Sunday morning. The accident estimated to have occurred at 3am today involved a train and a Mercedes Benz SUV car.
Watch Video: CCTV footage shows the unfortunate incident
The deceased have been identified as Ann Kabaaya, Nobert Tizikara (Teezy) and Aturinda Caroline who are believed to have been coming from a night out. They rammed into the train whose rail tracks cross the road at Kinawataka junction, a few meters from the Uganda Revenue Authority head office in Nakawa Division of Kampala.
Residents of the area delayed to rush to their rescue since it was late in the night and this is where the theives in the area took advantage of the situation. Even as the deceased bled profusely, Nakawa theives didn’t spare them as they stole their monies, phones and other valuable items they were travelling with.
A few moments later, help arrived to remove the victims from the car and this is when the lady in the co-driver seat was discovered lifeless. However, the gentleman who was the driver was rushed to Mulago in critical condition according to Jinja Road police’s Faridah Nampiima.
Could the accident have been avoided.
Residents in the area say this accident was totally avoidable because the train that crosses that road always hoots loudly to warn all road users before it approaches the section where road traffic passes.
But it is also a well known phenomenon that people moving with rasied car windows might not hear the deafening sound of the train, more so in the night when visibility is low and this was the case in today’s accident.
In Uganda, especially in the areas where locomotives and their railway lines pass, there are no barricades whatsoever to protect other road users when a train (locomotive) is passing. Trains simply hoot loudly in hope that everyone using the nearby road is alerted to stop. This is contrary to other developed nations that have barricades in the middle of the road that automatically close once a train is approaching.
Raymond Mujuni, a renowned journalist put the blame on the Uganda Railways Corporation saying that;
No you are not committed to ensuring the safety of road users!
All your barriers that interface with road traffic are unmanned and you’ve transferred responsibility to road users to clear the track when the train is approaching!
Please please please! Own up
