Six killed in Sachangwan road crash

Six matatu passengers died on the spot when their vehicle rammed into a bus head on at Sachangwan accident black spot along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

Witnesses said the bus that was ferrying pupils from St Peters Boys Primary School in Mumias and was heading to Nairobi veered of its lane and hurtled towards the matatu that was on the climbing lane and the two vehicles collided head on.

Volunteers immediately rushed to the blood-splattered scene to join  police in the rescue effort, and it took several hours to free some of the bodies that were stuck in the mangled wreckage.

Heated argument

Some of those who sustained injuries were rushed to the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital, while others were taken elsewhere, said Rift Valley Enforcement Traffic Officer Joseph Muthee.

 One of the passengers recounted events leading up to the accident on the black spot.

A survivor, who had boarded the matatu, said the driver and a passenger had been arguing since the vehicle  that was headed for Eldoret left Nakuru.

“The driver and a passenger seated at the driver’s cabin had a heated argument — we could not make out what the argument was about; but on reaching the scene of the accident the passenger seized the steering wheel, causing a commotion and that is when the matatu met head on with the bus,” she said.

One witness, Philip Lelei, said the bus was clearly on the wrong lane when the accident occurred, while Boniface Momanyi, who saw the vehicles from afar, insisted that the bus was speeding.

Difficult time

“I was working in my farm when I heard a loud bang and a woman immediately started screaming for help. She had seen the bus overtaking a lorry that was heading in the same direction,” said Mr Momanyi.

Bodies were strewn along the road, causing a traffic snarl up along the busy highway. The police had a difficult time controlling the crowd that had gathered at the scene, making it even more difficult to rescue survivors.

Luggage and valuables belonging to passengers and pupils, including books and uniforms, were scattered on the road.  Joyce Kerubo, a resident of Sachangwan, said she and her children were herding cattle when she heard a bang. She shooed her children away before rushing to assist the injured.

Even though investigations are incomplete, police have a fairly good idea about how the accident  may have happened, said Muthee.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that it was as a result of careless driving,” he said.

The traffic boss asked road users to exercise caution while using the Salgaa-Sachagwan stretch which has a treacherous section.