Woman dies in accident caused by handcuffed lorry driver in Meru
Mr Eric Murithi (in handcuffs), the driver of the lorry that veered off the road in Meru Town killing a female pedestrian. He claimed that police officers who had accused him of carrying excess weight handcuffed him to the steering wheel making it impossible for him to control the vehicle. PHOTO | DAVID MUCHUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The driver of the lorry said traffic police officers handcuffed him to the steering wheel and ordered him to drive to a police station.
- Enraged members of the public barred the police officers from taking the driver from the scene of the accident arguing that they would tamper with the evidence.
- Eye witnesses who were walking to work when the accident occurred said that the two police officers managed to get out of the lorry first before unlocking the driver from the steering wheel.
- A police officer who did not want to be named claimed that they had handcuffed the driver after they got out of the lorry as he wanted to flee.
A female pedestrian was killed on the spot after a lorry ferrying sand hit her on the Meru-Makutano road on Wednesday morning.
The driver of the lorry sustained minor injuries while two traffic police officers escaped unhurt after the lorry in lost control and overturned.
Mr Eric Murithi, the driver, said the two officers arrested him at a roadblock on the Meru-Isiolo road for allegedly overloading the lorry that was ferrying sand.
According to him, they then handcuffed him to the steering wheel before reaching Meru Town and ordered him to drive towards Meru Police Station.
“They arrested me for carrying excess weight on my lorry. I was driving with one hand handcuffed to the steering wheel.
Curious onlookers talking to a police officer at the scene of the accident in Meru Town. PHOTO | DAVID MUCHUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
DEVELOPED MECHANICAL PROBLEMS
“When we reached Nakumatt, the vehicle developed mechanical problems and I could not control it. I decided to drive off the road to avoid hitting other motorists,” Mr Murithi said.
Enraged members of the public barred the police officers from taking the driver from the scene of the accident arguing that they (police) would tamper with the evidence.
Eye witnesses who were walking to work when the accident occurred said that the two police officers managed to get out of the lorry first before unlocking the driver from the steering wheel.
“The police officers wanted to remove the handcuffs but we protested. We want to know which law allows police officers to handcuff a person while he is driving,” said Mr Paul Mutethia, one of the pedestrians.
However, a police officer who did not want to be named claimed that they had handcuffed the driver after they got out of the lorry as he wanted to flee.
The accident caused a traffic snarl-up for several hours before the lorry was towed to Meru police station.
The woman’s body was taken to the Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary for preservation and post-mortem examination.
Recently, acting Inspector General of Police issued a directive warning police officers against riding to a station in private vehicles whose drivers have been booked for minor traffic offences.
