One person dies in Migaa accident
The scene of a previous accident in Migaa along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway on January 3, 2016. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Accident involved five vehicles in Migaa near Salgaa trading centre along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway on Thursday morning.
- According to Salgaa Traffic Base Commander Walter Kiptala, a driver lost control of his speeding truck that was heading towards Nakuru.
One person died and three others were injured in a road crash involving five vehicles in Migaa, near Salgaa, on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway on Thursday morning.
According to Salgaa Traffic Base Commander Walter Kiptala, a driver lost control of his speeding truck that was heading towards Nakuru.
“The truck driver tried to control the vehicle, whose brakes had already failed, before it crashed head-on with another truck which was ferrying poison sodium cyanide and a private vehicle heading the opposite direction,” Mr Kiptala said.
Three trucks, a four-wheel-drive vehicle and 14-seater matatu were involved.
The driver of the first truck, which was ferrying sugar towards Nakuru town, died on the spot while his assistant was injured and rushed to hospital.
The two other drivers escaped with minor injuries while the rest escaped unhurt in the accident, which occurred around 9am.
Geoffrey Baraza, a survivor, said he had been transporting shoes from Kampala, Uganda, towards Nairobi before his truck was hit from behind by the speeding truck.
“My efforts to control my truck were futile as it lost control and overturned on the other side of the road,” Mr Baraza said.
No passenger from the four-wheel-drive vehicle or matatu was injured. The two vehicles were slightly hit by the crashing trucks.
Migaa residents took advantage of the crash by stealing an assortment of property from the trucks as police tried in vain to stop them.
The accident caused a heavy snarl-up along the Eldoret-Nakuru highway for hours before police managed to put the situation under control.
Some of the vehicles were towed to the Salgaa Police Station.
Residents have accused the government of doing little or nothing at all to control the loss of lives in the area in road crashes.
James Chemjor said the government was not keen on ending road accidents in the area.
“They have not even tried to raise bumps on this road so as to slow the driving speeds,” he said.
Police emphasised the need for drivers to observe safety rules while using the road.
