Five die in New Year bus, saloon car crash

Five people died on New Year when a saloon car collided with a bus at Salgaa along the Nakuru –Eldoret highway.

The bus was ferrying passengers from Bungoma to Nairobi while the car bearing a Ugandan registration number and had eight people, was heading to Eldoret from Nakuru Town.

Ms Mary Omari, area traffic enforcement officer, said the saloon car was overtaking a motorcycle when it collided with the bus.

“The accident occurred at around 3am. Five people in the car died on the spot. They were young men aged between 17 and 19,” she said.

Ms Omari added that the three other people sustained minor injuries and were taken to Rift Valley Hospital.

According to the officer, the driver of the saloon car was speeding and the vehicle was overloaded.

“He was speeding and on reaching a corner, he overtook a motorcycle and rammed into the bus,” she said, noting the group may have been drunk after attending a New Year party in Nakuru and were heading to Eldoret.

Nobody in the 52-seater bus was injured during the early morning accident.

The officer said police had not established if the driver of the car had a licence because no identification documents were found in the vehicle.

“The young man was driving recklessly from Nakuru. He was overtaking nearly all the vehicles and immediately after the accident, we took the victims to the hospital,” said James Njongu, a witness.

A nursing officer at Rift Valley General Hospital Catherine Otieno said the survivors had been treated and discharged.

Bodies of the deceased were taken to Nakuru County mortuary where they are awaiting identification by their kin.

Ms Omari said nine deaths occurred on the eve of the New Year at various roads in the county.

She called on road users to observe traffic rules and avoid drink-driving while drunk.