My brakes failed, driver of truck that killed 53 in Londiani says

The driver of the ill-fated trailer that caused the accident killing 53 people at the Londiani junction along the Nakuru- Kericho highway Friday last week, is alive.

Gilbert Ntuyemungu, a Rwandan national aged 52, is recuperating at the Nakuru Referral and Teaching Hospital, where he was rushed after the accident on Friday last week.

Speaking to The Standard from his hospital bed, Ntuyemungu said the brakes of his truck failed several kilometres from the Londiani Junction Centre.

"The truck breaks failed once, and it started moving fast. I tried controlling it in vain," he said.

He said he left the Nakuru-Simba Cement Factory, where he had spent two days waiting to have the truck loaded with cement which he was to Uganda through Busia.

The driver, who has been interrogated by officers from the National Transports and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the police, said he was with a turn-boy and is not aware of his whereabouts.

Ntuyemungu sustained multiple injuries on the head, legs, and back. Asked whether he knew what happened, he said he only heard people scream and some try to salvage their property.

He said he lost consciousness after the incident and only realized he was in the hospital on Sunday.

"I am in pain and unable to feed, I only recall trying to apply breaks, but it failed, minutes later. I heard people scream and saw others flee the centre. I don't know there an accident that claimed lives, no one has informed me," he stated.

The father of two said his family is in Rwanda and is not aware of the magnitude of the accident. He lost all his items in the accident.

He said his employer has since been informed of the incident and is yet to come to see him in the hospital.

Ntuyemungu said he has been a driver since 1997 and has been using the Nakuru, Kericho-Londiani route for years.

"My family is not aware I am here my phone and documents and the money I had all got lost," he said.

Christiano Ogutu, an eyewitness in the accident and whose car was hit by the truck, said the truck was moving at a high speed and could not reach it despite driving at a speed of 50 km/hour.

Ogutu said the truck driver was almost driving in the middle of the road and that they managed to cross the first bump and were hit before crossing the second bump at the centre.

He said the truck cabin was detached from its trailer after hitting a bump at the centre and were like separate vehicles, and the driver could not control them.

Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr James Waweru said the hospital received nine patients who survived the tragic incident on Friday last week.

He said among the patients were three females who had suffered fractures on the lower limbs. The males, he said, had head and abdominal injuries.

One of those taken to the hospital, he said, succumbed. The patients being attended to are recovering well.

He said the patients would be treated for free as directed by County boss Governor Susan Kihika.

Kericho County Police Commander George Mayek said investigations have commenced, and they will give a full report on the next cause of action.

Mayek said it would be premature to state whether the driver would be charged or not, adding that the driver of the truck is also a casualty in the accident.

"When an accident occurs, the person suspected to have caused the accident is usually served with a notice of intended prosecution. A file is usually opened, investigations are done, and thereafter, an opinion formed whether to charge the driver or not," he said.