ODM Senator involved in accident

By Antony Gitonga                 

Naivasha, Kenya: Nominated ODM senator Harold Kipchumba escaped death narrowly after he was involved in a road accident along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

But a few kilometers from the scene of the accident, two people died on the spot after their lorry which was ferrying beer was involved in a head on collision with a trailer.

The first accident that involved the disabled senator occurred near the Gilgil Toll station and left his son and bodyguard seriously injured.

The son who was driving was trying to overtake when he rammed head on into an oncoming pick-up.

According to a witness, the senator was heading to Nakuru from Nairobi after attending a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The son and the bodyguard were seriously injured but Kipchumba escaped with slight injuries and was treated and discharged at the Naivasha District Hospital.

In the second incident, a lorry ferrying beer was involved in a head on collision with a trailer near Morendat.

Witnesses said that the lorry ferrying the beer was heading to Nakuru and tried to overtake only to be hit by the trailer heading in the opposite direction.

Both the driver and his conductor died on the spot while the three passengers in the trailer were rushed to the district hospital.

Following the accident, motorists and passengers looted beer from the lorry causing a two hour traffic snarl-up before police intervened.

Confirming both accidents, Naivasha OCPD Charles Kortok said that two people had died and eight people had been injured and rushed to various hospitals.

He called for drivers to be cautious and avoid careless overtaking especially when it was raining adding that investigations into the accidents had started.

The Superintendent in charge of the district hospital Dr Joseph Mburu said that all the eight patients had been transferred to Nairobi for specialized treatment.

The doctor termed the condition of the senator’s son as serious but stable as he suffered chest and head injuries.