By Benard Sanga
MOMBASA, KENYA: Four people died on the spot yesterday morning and one was injured in a collision between a matatu and truck on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway at Bangladesh in Changamwe, Mombasa.
Changamwe Officer Commanding Police Division Joseph Muthee said the four, three women and a man were in the matatu, which was heading to Mikindani from town.
The early morning accident is one of the many fatal accidents that have hit the region. On December 14, four people died on the spot in another grisly accident in Mariakani when a bus carrying Presbyterian Church youths was involved in an accident with a fuel tanker.
Same spot
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Coast traffic police boss Martin Kariuki told reporters 30 other passengers suffered injuries when the bus collided head on with the tanker. Other reports indicated the number of deaths rose to 10 after six others succumbed to the injuries.
On August 24 three people also died on the spot and scores of others injured when a matatu heading to Mikindani collided with a truck at Bangaladesh almost at the same spot where yesterday’s accident occurred.
Veered off
On September 28, two other people perished while a prominent Mombasa preacher, Bishop Mary Kagendo, was injured when a vehicle they were travelling in veered off the road in Mariakani.
Yesterday, the Changamwe police boss said the driver and conductor of the matatu did not sustain any injury but the driver of the lorry had small injuries which were treated at a nearby private hospital before he was discharged.
He said the accident occurred when the matatu tried to overtake and collided with a trailer, which was heading to Nairobi.
He said police had launched investigation and that “as at now we cannot blame either the matatu or the trailer because investigation are still ongoing.”
