Mega Fm &Agency
Fourteen people, including the driver of a commuter taxi, were killed in a head-on collision with a sand-laden truck at Kamuwunga Trading Centre along the Lwera swamp stretch on the Masaka-Kampala Highway in Kalungu District.
The fatal crash occurred at about 11:40 p.m. on Monday, according to police.
Police identified the taxi as a white Toyota Hiace registration number UA 662AQ, driven by Ssembatya Abdul Karim, a resident of Masaka City, who died at the scene.
The second vehicle involved was a red Sino truck, registration number UBS 040F, whose driver fled the scene and remains on the run.
According to the preliminary police findings, the taxi was travelling from Kampala towards Masaka when it collided head-on with the oncoming truck.
Police allege that the truck driver, who was transporting sand, attempted to dodge road humps installed on his lane due to ongoing road construction.
In the process, he reportedly swerved onto the opposite lane and crashed into the taxi, which was travelling on its correct side of the road.
The impact caused both vehicles to lock together, and the heavily loaded truck pushed the taxi backwards for about 30 metres from the point of impact.
Four people survived the crash.