Three people were killed and two others were critically injured in two separate accidents in Rwamagana District at the weekend.The accidents occurred between Friday and Sunday on Rwamagana-Kigali highway, Police said.The first accident occurred on Friday night when a Kigali-bound truck crushed an oncoming motorcycle, killing two people on the spot.The truck driver survived without injury, while the lone passenger of the truck escaped with minor injuries. One of the victims was identified as Alvera Habarurema but the second victim was yet to be identified by press time. “The truck swerved off the road before it came to a halt. Had it been a busy place, many people would have died,” said Jean Claude Ndikubwimana, an eye witness. ‘Ignorance’The second accident occurred when two vehicles had a head-on collision near a place known as Avega junction, on the same highway at about 3:30pm on Saturday.Police said the accident was caused by ignorance of traffic lane rules as Jimmy Mukasa, 44, a Ugandan, drove on the wrong side of the road.Mukasa alarmed residents when he was seen ‘comfortably’ driving on the left side of the road before his Land Cruiser vehicle collided with an oncoming Toyota Corolla.Claude Mizero, who was travelling in the Corolla, died on the spot. Other occupants of the car were injured.The injured, whose names were not readily available, are admitted in intensive care in Rwamagana Hospital.“We were about to call Police hot-line when the vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road collided with another,” said Germen Ndayisenga, an eye witness. “It was incredible; the vehicle on the wrong side at a sharp corner. That only one person died was luck. We could have seen the worst.”Police arrested Mukasa after he attempted to flee. He is being held at Rwamagana Police Station.
