14 hurt as City Shuttle bus and car collide in Nairobi CBD

Fourteen people were injured when a bus and a car collided along Nairobi’s Kenyatta Avenue Wednesday morning.

In a morning crash that brought activities in the area to a standstill, the City Shuttle bus and a Volkswagen Tiguan car collided, resulting to several passengers being ejected from the bus.

The bus veered off the road, crashed into several traffic light posts and overturned.

The injured passengers were rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) by Red Cross ambulances.

Mr Eric Bizimana, a survivor who had boarded the vehicle heading to the city’s central business district from Kawangware, told Nation.co.ke that he was seated at the back of the vehicle when the crash occurred.

He said the impact of the crash ejected him from the vehicle, causing him to land on the tarmac as the vehicle veered off the road, struck a few traffic light posts and toppled over to land on its side more than 50 metres ahead.

LOUD BANG

“I was seated on the second last window seat on the left aisle and the vehicle had almost reached the bus stop [when] I heard a loud bang and then found myself being violently thrown out of my seat through the rear exit. When I regained my senses, I was lying on the tarmac with the overturned vehicle just [in front] of me,” he said.

Mr Bizimana, who had a swelling on the left side of his head, claimed the driver had been speeding all the way from Westlands and that some passengers had even complained about it to no avail.

“Shortly before the accident occurred, a female passenger was arguing with the driver on his excessive speed saying he had passed by her desired alighting point. But he just ignored her and actually increased speed despite our protests. Shortly afterwards, we collided with the oncoming vehicle,” said Mr Bizimana.

According to the Nairobi Traffic Commandant Peter Ndungu, the crash happened at 6.30am.

“We received reports of an accident that had occurred between a 33-seater City Shuttle bus and a private car and rushed to the scene. 14 injured people were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital,” he said.

NO FATALITIES

He said there were no fatalities in the early morning crash.

The officer would, however, not be drawn into speculating on the cause of the accident saying it was too early to speculate.

“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the driver might have lost control of the vehicle. It is, however, too early to pinpoint the exact cause of the crash as it could have been caused by any number of factors including driver error, a tyre burst or others. The matter is still under investigations to uncover the root cause of the accident,” said Mr Ndungu.

KNH Corporate Communications Manager Simon Ithae confirmed that they had admitted 14 survivors, saying they were in stable condition.

“We have received eight male and six female patients and they have been treated for soft tissue injuries. They are in stable condition, but only the conductor of the ill-fated bus seems to be more seriously injured than the rest. He has also been stabilised as medics attend to him,” said Mr Ithae.

He appealed to relatives of the crash survivors to visit the hospital and check on the status of their loved ones, saying they would be assisted to trace them once they arrive.

“We are on hand to provide the patients with the best medical care and also update their family members on their status. Relatives of the survivors should visit KNH and check on the status of those admitted,” he said.