RWAMAGANA - Four people all members of the same family, survived death after a saloon car they were travelling in was involved in an accident with a Tanzanian  registered trailer, Sunday night.

Germain Karangwa, his son and two other family members, were heading to Kibungo in Ngoma district at the time of the accident, while the trailer carrying artificial fertilizers was heading to Kigali from Dar-es-salam.  The mishap occurred at a place called Kabale in Muhazi sector, bordering Kayonza district.

Traffic Police at the scene, said the accident occurred when two trailers tried to overtake another trailer in a sharp corner. Police blamed the accident on careless driving by the truck drivers.

"Just because they drive big vehicles doesn’t mean that they are free to infringe traffic laws. The line on the road doesn’t allow overtaking…so the trailer driver is on the wrong,” said police.

Talking to The New Times from Rwamagana Hospital, on Monday morning, Karangwa said they survived miraculously.

"It is a miracle that I’m alive. I was lucky the driver of the trailer was quick and kind enough to swerve it off the road, instead of hitting me directly,” he said.

Salim Muhamed, 35, the truck driver, explained that he did his best to avoid a fatal accident. "I had to veer off the road to save the lives of the people in the car. If I went for outright head-on collision, it would be a different story,” he said.

Margareta Mukamunana, 47, a  resident of the area said the scene of the accident can be said to be a black spot.

"The authorities should do something about this particular spot. Several accidents have been known to occur in that particular scene. I would suggest humps are put in place to reduce the speed of vehicles,” she said.

Night accidents along Kigali-Kayonza highway have increased in the last couple days. On Saturday, about 25 people were injured in three separate accidents along the same road.

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