Six people died Wednesday evening in a grisly road accident involving more than 10 vehicles at the notorious black spot in Migaa along the busy Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
The accident, which occurred a few minutes past 6pm, is alleged to have been caused by a trailer heading to Nakuru town after the driver lost control of the vehicle while driving downhill crushing nine other motor vehicles.
The scene of the accident had remains of vehicles strewn along two- kilometre stretch with police, rescuers and locals, having a hard time rescuing those trapped in wreckages.
Patrick Koskey, a local who was among the first people to arrive at the scene, said he counted four bodies - three trapped inside a Toyota Wish and the driver of the trailer which had caused the accident.
“When we heard the accident we rushed and we found the horrible scene with motor vehicles strewn along the highway. I saw three bodies trapped inside a Toyota Wish and inside the trailer the driver was also dead,” said Mr Koskey.
READ MORE
Coast hospital admits 750 victims of road accidents every month
Road safety advocates call for good roads, law enforcement
He said the residents were left helpless as they lacked gears to save the injured and were forced to await for police and Kenya Red Cross.
“We had several injuries and we managed to help a few as we waited for police and rescuers. This was one of the worst accidents I have witnessed in this area,” he added.
According to one of the survivors, Roy Gard, who was driving from Eldoret to Nairobi, his car was hit from the side by the trailer after the driver lost control of the vehicle.
“I saw the trailer a few metres behind as we navigated the Sachangwan stretch. A few minutes later the driver lost control and as it came downhill, my vehicle was hit from the side forcing me off-road,” he said.
The accident which left several nursing injuries involved three trailers, five personal cars, and two lorries.
It caused traffic jam stretching to several kilometres.
Vincent Kiplagat, another local, said they rescued one woman from a trailer with slight injuries on her head and was taken to a local private clinic in Salgaa trading centre.
“We rescued a woman who was trapped inside one of the trailers. She had injuries on her head, arms and legs. We took her to a local clinic in Salgaa,” he said.
Hezron Korir who was heading to Nakuru from Keriho, said the driver of the trailer lost control of the trailer as it headed downhill crushing several cars.
Rift Valley Traffic Enforcement officer Zero Arome said they had recovered six bodies from the scene and they were yet to establish the exact number of fatalities and the injured.
“We have managed to recover five bodies and we are yet to establish the exact number of injuries and we have sent police officers to local health facilities,” he said.
He added that the exact cause of the accident is under investigations as police and Kenya Red Cross move to provide help to the accident victims.?
