ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A traffic accident in Ethiopia's Amhara regional state located in the northern part of the country has left 16 people dead, an Ethiopian official said on Monday.
Desalegn Mekuria, Chief Trafic Police Officer, Dembecha locality, West Gojjam zone in Amhara regional state, said the traffic accident happened on Monday morning when a freight truck travelling on the road simultaneously collided with two transport minibuses and an autorickshaw vehicle traveling on the opposite side of the road, reported state media outlet Ethiopia Press Agency.
Mekuria said the traffic accident happened as the freight truck and the other vehicles involved in the accident were trying to cross a narrow bridge in close distance to each other.
He further said several other people who received critical injuries have been sent to nearby medical facilities for treatment.
Police is currently investigating the cause of the traffic accident, but Mekuria said the main line of theory for the traffic accident is speeding beyond the speed limit of the area.
Although Ethiopia has one of the lowest per capita car ownership rates in the world, deadly traffic accidents are fairly common, with the blame put on bad roads, reckless driving, a flawed driving license issuance system, and lax enforcement of safety rules.
