Six killed in Nakuru night crash [Photos]

Six people died after they were involved in a road accident in the Greenstead area in Mbaruk on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

Nakuru East Sub County Police Commander Elena Kabukuru said the Wednesday evening accident involved a 14-seater matatu and a lorry.

"Five people including the driver of the matatu died on the spot while another died while receiving treatment at Nakuru Level Five Hospital. Two others are receiving treatment," said Kabukuru.

The police boss explained that the matatu belonging to North Rift Sacco was heading towards Nakuru town while the lorry was heading towards Nairobi when they collided head-on.

"The matatu driver is among those who died on the spot while the lorry driver is among those receiving treatment at the hospital. Bodies have been taken to Nakuru Municipal morgue," said Kabukuru.

Nakuru County Police Commander Beatrice Kiraguri explained that preliminary investigations indicated the lorry was overtaking another vehicle when the accident occurred.

"The lorry had swerved off its lane and crashed into the matatu, ripping off almost the entire right-hand side. We suspect the lorry driver was overtaking another vehicle and underestimated the distance and speed of the matatu," said Kiraguri.

It was headed towards Nakuru town when the driver collided head-on with a lorry.

Those injured have been rushed to the Rift Valley General Hospital.

The accident comes as residents have oftentimes called for speed bumps at blackspots to reduce the number of accidents.

Last week, four people died and another one was seriously injured in two separate road accidents along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

In the first accident, three men died on the spot after the vehicle they were travelling in was involved in a head-on collision with a trailer near Gilgil town.

The three were on their way to Nakuru when the trailer rammed their car around 5 am.

At the scene, blood mixed with fuel flowed freely as personal effects were littered all over.

Gilgil OCPD John Ondit said only two of the victims had been identified.

“One of the vehicles was overtaking before the deadly crash happened,” he said.

And in Karai, Naivasha, a boda boda operator was hit and killed by a motorist.

The middle-aged man was ferrying potatoes to a nearby market.

The driver escaped from the scene after the accident.

This brought to six the number of motorcycle operators who have been killed by motorists on the section of the road in the last two months.

Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru decried the rising number of fatal accidents involving boda boda operators noting that speeding and fog have massively contributed to the cases.