14 people were killed in an accident on the Kampala-Jinja highway in the Mabira Forest on Thursday evening. Eye witnesses say the accident occurred at about 7 p.m. towards Lugalambo.
The Southeastern Regional Police spokesperson, Samson Lubega, says the accident took place when the breaks a trailer belonging to Tororo Cement failed as it climbed a steep hill. The trailer rolled back, directly hitting a Toyota Hiace minibus taxi that was following behind.
Lubega says the taxi passengers were caught under the trailer, killing them on the spot. The driver of the trailer fled the scene into the night.
The dead remained under the trailer for more than two hours until the police were able to secure a crane to lift the trailer off the minibus.
The accident caused a 15-kilometer build up of traffic on either end of the highway.
Lugalambo, near Lugazi, is a notorious accident spot in Mabira on the Kampala-Jinja Road. In January last year one person was killed and 11 others seriously injured when a taxi rammed into a sugarcane tractor at that same spot. Two years prior, the highway was cut off for 13 hours because of a fatal bus accident at Lugalambo.
