Five people killed in New Year accidents

Even before blood could dry after the death of 38 people near Salgaa in Nakuru County on Sunday, three more people were killed in two separate accidents on Monday at the Sachangwan black spot.

Two others were killed in Kirinyaga and Tharaka-Nithi counties as several people sustained injuries in road accidents.

In Nakuru, the first accident occurred at 2am Monday near  Sachang’wan trading centre when a truck transporting tea from Uganda to Mombasa port hit a canter from behind and killed its loader on the spot.

The driver of the canter suffered serious injuries and was rushed to Nakuru Level Five Hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

The second accident, on the other hand, occurred at 2pm and claimed the lives of two men while the third person was rushed to Nakuru Level Five Hospital in critical condition.

LORRY

Assistant County Commissioner, Mr Peter Mutiso, said the truck in the first incident had break failure as it descended downhill hitting the canter from behind.

Mr Mutiso said that the second accident occurred opposite General Service Unit (GSU) Jolly Farm Camp Unit and it involved a lorry which was coming from Eldoret whose brakes also failed and veered off the road and crashed pedestrians walking along the highway.

 “According to the lorry driver, the steering locked and he was unable to control the truck before it veered off the road and knocked the pedestrians killing the two instantly,” said Mr Mutiso.

It could not be established what the truck was carrying as its container was sealed.

In Kirinyaga, one person died and six others were seriously injured in two road accidents  on New Year’s eve.

The survivors suffered head, leg and hand injuries and were taken to Kimbimbi and Sagana hospitals and admitted for treatment.

In the first accident, a boda boda rider  died on the spot after he was hit by a vehicle along the Embu-Makutano road.

KUTUS

The  driver of the vehicle heading to Kutus from Ngurubani was said to have lost control of the vehicle at Nyangati village and crashed into the cyclist.

In another accident, five people were injured after a matatu they were travelling lost control and overturned several times.

The survivors were trapped in the mangled vehicle but villagers rescued and took them to the hospital. In Sagana, a man was injured when his car overturned. He was travelling towards Nyeri when he lost control of his car near Tana bridge.

DRIVER ESCAPED

In Tharaka-Nithi, Chuka Township Primary School head teacher died on Sunday night following a road accident near Chuka University. Mr Evansia Muthoni Kinyua and an unidentified man were found stuck in the wreckage of their car Monday morning by travellers who took them to Chuka County Referral Hospital but the headteacher was pronounced dead on arrival.

Chuka OCPD Barasa Sayia said the victims who were going towards Meru town from Chuka collided head on with an oncoming vehicle heading to Nairobi at Kurugucha area few metres from Chuka University. He said he driver of the other vehicle escaped and police were looking for him.