Eight killed in separate road accidents at black spots
Two people died on the spot and several others injured in a road crash at Migaa near Salgaa on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway on April 27, 2016. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH
What you need to know:
In Bomet County, police said the driver of a saloon car died on Tuesday night died when he lost control as he negotiated a sharp bend at Longisa.
County AP boss Samson Gathuku said speed bumps needed to be erected at the spot, saying more than 12 people have died on the stretch.
Two other people died on Wednesday after a bus they were travelling in to western Kenya collided with a private car at the notorious Salgaa blackspot.
Eight people have died in separate accidents as the carnage on Kenyan roads reared its ugly head again.
Five people died on Tuesday night when their car smashed into the barrier at the Keera black spot on the Keroka-Nyangusu road in Kisii County.
Police said the Toyota Probox car's brakes might have failed as the driver tried to negotiate the sharp bend.
The driver and one passenger were killed instantly while the rest died as they were being taken to hospital.
In Bomet County, police said the driver of a saloon car died on Tuesday night when he lost control of the vehicle as he negotiated a sharp bend at Longisa.
Three passengers were seriously injured and were being treated at Longisa County Referral Hospital.
County AP boss Samson Gathuku said speed bumps need to be erected at the spot, saying more than 12 people had died on the stretch.
Two other people died on Wednesday after a bus they were travelling in to western Kenya collided with a private car at the notorious Salgaa black spot on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
Two people in the private vehicle were taken to Nakuru Level Five Hospital with injuries.
“The vehicle was trying to overtake a truck when it collided with the bus,” area police boss Joseph Mwamburi said.
The accident comes a year after the National Transport and Safety Authority agreed with the Kenya National Highways Authority that funds should be sought to build an alternative road for trucks to reduce the high number of crashes on the 11km Salgaa stretch.
Rift Valley Traffic Enforcement Officer Mary Omari called on road users to observe traffic rules.
“There has been an upsurge in the number of accident deaths in the region in the last two months. It is a worrying trend,” said Ms Omari.
FIRE
Last year the National Transport and Safety Authority deployed a car with speed cameras to patrol the black spot area 24 hours.
In Baringo, four police officers narrowly escaped death after their vehicle caught fire on the Kabarnet-Kabartonjo road on Tuesday afternoon.
According to witnesses, the brakes of the police vehicle, which was heading to Kabartonjo from Kabarnet town, failed and it landed in a ditch and caught fire.
The police officers jumped out of the vehicle.
Baringo North police boss Chemonges Ndiema decried the upsurge in road accidents in the area and called on motorists to be cautious.
“Initial investigations indicate that the driver lost control after the brakes failed and the vehicle caught fire from a short circuit,” said Mr Ndiema.
“The officers were taken to Kabartonjo Sub-County Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and discharged,” he said.
Recently, matatu operators barricaded the dilapidated road with large boulders and trees to protest delays in repairing it.
The operators said they were incurring huge expenses maintaining their vehicles because of the poor state of the road.
Reported by Magati Obebo, Geoffrey Rono, Eric Matara and Florah Koech
