Four people, among them two prisons officers, died yesterday in a road crash involving four vehicles at the Njoro turn-off and Eveready roundabout in Nakuru town.
The vehicles, a 14-seater matatu, a fuel tanker, a Kenya Prisons Service lorry and a trailer, were all headed towards Nakuru town when the crash happened on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
According to a witness, the brakes of the prisons lorry, which was ferrying maize to the Nakuru GK Prison, failed and it drove through the Njoro interchange where it hit the matatu.
“The lorry was moving very fast and the driver was struggling to control it. At the Njoro interchange, he tried to avoid a matatu ahead but hit it. The matatu veered off the road as the lorry sped on,” said James Mwangi.
A few metres to the Eveready roundabout, the speeding lorry hit a fuel tanker, causing both vehicles to roll.
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According to John Koskei, who was driving the trailer, the lorry rolled into lanes designated for oncoming traffic.
“I had just moved past the roundabout when I saw the lorry hit the fuel tanker twice. It then rolled into my lane,” said Mr Koskei.
Serious injuries
Two people died on the spot while 21 others from the matatu and the tanker sustained serious injuries and were taken to the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.
Two more people died on arrival at the hospital.
“The lorry had two occupants, both prisons officers. They died on the spot,” said Rift Valley Regional Traffic Commandant Ziro Arome.
The hospital’s Medical Superintendent, Joseph Mburu, confirmed that they had received 19 patients.
“A number of the patients were received in critical condition after losing much blood in the accident,” said Dr Mburu.
Police struggled to control a crowd that scrambled for maize strewn at the scene of the crash.
Elsewhere, 50 passengers escaped death narrowly after a bus they were travelling in was involved in an accident on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
The Sunday night accident, which occurred at a black spot near Karai, about 10km from Naivasha town, occurred when the driver of the bus belonging to Easy Coach Company lost control.
The bus rolled several times, injuring 20 passengers who were taken to various hospitals in Naivasha and its environs.
According to James Kabono from the Road Safety Watch group, the bus was heading to Western Kenya from Nairobi when the driver hit another vehicle.
“The area is notorious for accidents. We have been trying to tell drivers to be more careful but no one seems to be listening,” he said.
