Car accident kills a child and injures 2 in Unity state

By Bonifacio Taban Kuich

October 11, 2011 (JUBA) – A school boy was killed in a car accident and two others seriously injured on Friday in Unity State’s capital Bentiu when they were hit by a bus by the side of the road just 200 hundred metre from their school.

Road accidents have been increasing high in Bentiu as drivers ignore rules and drive to fast. Around 20 people have died on Unity state’s roads this year according to state government officials.

Major John Juor Yuoah state director of traffic police in Bentiu town stated that on Friday a mini-bus of public transportation car crushed school children in Kuer Mandoke road before reaching in school.

The two injured children “are now admitted in Bentiu hospital but it was unfortunately a bad accident”, said Juor.

Juor added that in Bentui’s Market 7 alone, 12 people have die as a result of car accidents this year, because of reckless driving and brake failure. Juor said that he has already informed his staff to carry out a serious check of the road worthiness of all private and public cars in the state.

“I’m going to make a cross checking on Tuesday, cross checking into all vehicles with in the town, public transportation, I’m going to look on what vehicle is useful for the road and what is not useful to be use because the accident happen on Friday, it give us awareness that there are difficulty among these vehicles, among those transportation which are using in the town, so I’m going to take a new action against these issues”, said Juor.

The number of vehicles in Unity State has increased dramatically since a 2005 peace deal between north and South Sudan allowed the import of cars from Khartoum.

Six years later South Sudan is independent but is struggling to cope with the rapid urbanisation that occurred during the interim period of the agreement.

(ST)