10 injured in Chuka accident
The wreckage of a matatu that rolled near Chuka Town on July 19, 2015. PHOTO | ALEX NJERU |
What you need to know:
- Matatu driver was trying to avoid hitting a pedestrian when the vehicle rolled.
Ten people were injured, four of them seriously, when a matatu plunged into a ditch at Kangoroa near Chuka on the Meru-Nairobi Highway on Sunday.
The 14-seater matatu belonging to Mark One Company was heading to Meru from Nairobi with 14 passengers on board.
The injured were on Sunday receiving treatment at Chuka General Hospital while a 21-year-old, Michael Waithaka, was transferred to Aga Khan Hospital in serious condition.
According to the driver, Charles Kinyua, he applied emergency breaks to avoid knocking a pedestrian who was crossing the road when the vehicle lost control on the slippery road and rolled several times.
The chairman of the Kangoro Bodaboda Operators Association Sammy Njagi said that several accidents have occurred at the spot whenever it rains due to the mud which is pushed by the running water onto the road.
He complained that the residents have been urging the government to erect bumps on the busy road but nothing has been done.
“The other day a fuel tanker rolled here trying to avoid knocking a pedestrian but nothing has been done even after we complained to our MP Muthomi Njuki,” said Mr Njagi.
They now want the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to move fast and raise speed bumps to avoid more accidents.
