Six relatives killed in Kericho road crash
The wreckage of the vehicle following the crash in Chepseon Complex. PHOTO | ANITA CHEPKOECH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The six - a man, his son and four grandchildren - perished at Chepseon Complex on the Kericho-Nakuru Highway, some 40km north of Kericho Town.
- In October, a bus carrying passengers from Nairobi plunged into a ravine at Fort Ternan, leaving 58 people dead.
Kericho County on Thursday evening came to terms with yet another horrendous road crash that left six relatives dead.
The six - a man, his son and four grandchildren - perished at Chepseon Complex on the Kericho-Nakuru Highway, some 40km north of Kericho Town.
CONTROL LOST
The man was identified as Ishmael Ogege, who had been on his way from his rural home in Nyakach to Londiani, where he stayed after retiring from his job as a driver at Londiani Sub-county Hospital.
His son Fredrick Ochieng was a class four pupil, while the grandchildren were identified as Laura Oyugi, Sharon Atieno (Form Four), Agnes Omuya and Edmond Owino.
Mr Ogege and his family had made a stop at Kericho Town where they bought various school items.
Kericho County Commander James Mugera said the accident occurred after Mr Ogege lost control of his car and collided with an oncoming lorry, killing him and the children on the spot.
“The accident occurred about 12.49pm. The lorry driver was transporting sodas from Nyeri to Kisii when the car, coming from the opposite direction, veered off its lane and collided with the vehicle.”
Inside the wreckage were text books and other items strewn all over. There was also a school box, an indication of a horrible end to one of the victim's dreams of an education.
Mr Mugera said they obtained the details of the driver from his driving licence.
The police boss said the lorry's driver survived with injuries and that the six bodies were taken to Kericho County Hospital mortuary.
POPULAR ROUTE
The road, one of the two popular routes between Nakuru and Kisumu, is often busy.
However, the section where the accident happened is not normally busy and is a few kilometres away from the Londiani junction, where a new road through Muhoroni was recently built to ease congestion on the Kericho highway.
In October, a bus carrying passengers from Nairobi plunged into a ravine at Fort Ternan, killing 58 people in what police suspected was a case of fatigue on the part of the driver. They also cited overloading..
With new roads across the country, the National Transport and Safety Authority has struggled to keep up with the rising number of crashes.
