Five killed in two separate road accidents in Eldoret

Wreckage of the DHL truck that collided head on with a GSU lorry in Tarakwa, Uasin Gishu County. (Photo:Kevin Tunoi/Standard)

Edoret, Kenya: Five people died Friday after they were involved in two separate road accidents at Tarakwa and Ziwa areas of Uasin Gishu County.

In the first incident, two trucks were involved in a head on collision at Tarakwa along the busy Eldoret-Nakuru road, killing three people.

The deceased were two officers travelling in a General Service Unit (GSU) lorry that was transporting food rations while the third was the driver of a DHL transport truck.

The driver of the government truck was rushed to hospital in critical condition while the conductor of the DHL truck sustained minor arm injuries.

Eye witness and survivor accounts indicated that the government lorry was speeding down a steep slope and had recklessly overtaken over five vehicles before ramming into the DHL truck.

Samuel Mugweru, a tearful survivor narrated that they were travelling towards Nakuru and when they reached Tarakwa, they spotted the speeding truck coming from the opposite direction.

"The driver of the truck I was in drove away from the main road but it seems the GSU lorry lost control knocking down a pedestrian. It rolled twice before ramming at our truck on the driver's side, I'm lucky to be alive," explained the sobbing conductor.

An eye witness who only identified himself as Tornado Sounds said he saw the accident happen as he was driving behind the DHL truck: "The GSU lorry was speeding down the slope before the accident happened."

In a separate accident, a road contractor of Chinese origin and a driver of a pick-up double cabin truck they were travelling in died in a self-involved accident along the Eldoret-Ziwa-Segero road.

Preliminary police information revealed that the truck was speeding before it lost control after slipping on loose rocks along the road and rolled several times.

Eldoret Traffic Base Commander Humphrey Abai confirmed the two incidents stating that drivers should exercise caution during the festive season.

"I want to call on all road users to exercise extra caution to avert road carnage, drivers must drive responsibly to avoid further loss of lives," he said.

The Traffic boss regretted the two incidents and warned drivers not to take advantage of the newly made roads to over speed