A truck driver and a turn boy died when the truck they were driving in caught fire before it rammed into a stationary taxi in the opposite direction. The accident left both vehicles reduced to ashes. The incident occurred in Nengo cell, Gisenyi sector in Rubavu District at around 7pm on Wednesday. CIP Emmanuel Kabanda, the spokesperson for Traffic and Road Safety Department, confirmed the incident, saying the truck driver and turn boy died on the spot. “Their names are yet to be identified,” said Kabanda. Eye witnesses said the taxi driver had parked on the roadside to give way when he suddenly noticed an oncoming burning truck from a distance. The taxi, registration number RAC 378J, had eighteen occupants on board but no causalities were registered, according to police. Aimé Habimana, the taxi driver, said he saw the speeding truck from a distance and immediately parked on the roadside. “I saw the truck from a distance but it was in flames. I parked and my conductor opened for the passengers to exit, I also jumped out fast and we were lucky nobody was trapped inside,” he said. Kabanda said that investigations had started to ascertain the real cause of the accident. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
