Families of 18 people who perished in Monday’s accident along the Kigali-Kayonza highway have been identified, Police said yesterday. The accident occurred at a place commonly known as Akabuga ka Musha, Rwamagana District. Speaking to The New Times, yesterday, Jean Marie Vianney Ndushabandi, the spokesperson of the Traffic and Road Safety department, said bodies of all the victims were claimed from Rwamagana hospital mortuary by their families for burial. The victims included two couples. “The deceased included a policeman and his wife, and another couple and their child. Bodies of all of all the victims have been taken to be laid to rest by their families,” he said. The accident involved a Tanzania-registered truck which ran over a public service van with 19 passengers on board, killing all but two. The other victim was a child who was working on a roadside farm. Inspector of Police Emmanuel Kayigi, the Eastern Region Police spokesperson, said investigations to establish the cause of the accident were still underway. “We expect to get some information on the cause of the accident from the driver of a cargo truck who was arrested yesterday in Kigali but he is still uncomfortable to speak. He is being treated at Rwamagana Hospital as he got injuries in the accident,” he said. Meanwhile, one of the two victims who were admitted at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), is steadily recovering while another is still in critical condition, according to the hospital director, Dr Theobald Hategekimana. Speaking from his hospital bed on Monday evening, Etienne Nsanzimana, told The New Times that the minibus they were travelling in was not speeding but an over speeding trailer ran over the minibus from the opposite direction. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
