Two people died on the spot when a matatu ran over them at the Tala bus park.

Three others are fighting for their lives in a private hospital in Machakos town, where they were transferred from Kangundo Level 4 Hospital in critical condition. Others were treated and discharged.

According to witnesses, the accident occurred when a tout drove the matatu from the park at high speed into a crowd on Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses said the matatu, operating under Kam Sacco, had just arrived from Nairobi and was in the process of dropping passengers when the driver left it unattended.

“Immediately, a tout entered the vehicle and drove off at high speed, crashing into a huge crowd before fleeing from the scene,” a trader at the market said.

When the matatu came to a stop, two bodies were pulled from under it and the injured were rushed to hospital.

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RESCUE OPERATION

Kangundo Traffic Base Commander Davies Okisai, who led the rescue operation, declined to address the press regarding the incident.

The Standard established that there was a rush for quick cash among PSV operators as normal fares had been hiked from the usual Sh200 to Sh300 from Tala to Nairobi.

The hospital’s acting Medical Superintendent Robert Kilonzo said three other serious cases had been referred to a private facility in Machakos town.

“We have received two casualties, three critical injuries that we have referred to Machakos. We are handling the rest from here,” said Dr Kilonzo.

Kam Sacco chairman Langi Muthiani said the driver of the matatu had left the vehicle to pay daily operation fees at the county revenue collection point when the tout drove it.

The incident came barely two days after another Kam sacco matatu collided head on with a boda boda rider near Tala High School, killing him on the spot.

Last week, two cousins died on the spot when their car crashed into a culvert along the Tala-Kisukioni road.