Two injured in Sachangwan multiple crash
A lorry involved in an accident at Sachangwan area on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway. Two people were seriously injured during the Wednesday night accident. PHOTO | REITZ MUREITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The accident involved three lorries and pick-up.
- Traffic officers quickly cleared the scene of the accident, and, when contacted, the Rift Valley traffic enforcement officer Zero Arome denied having been briefed of the accident.
- The two people injured in the crash were rushed to hospital and are responding well to treatment.
Two people were seriously injured on Wednesday night at Sachangwan along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway after four vehicles were involved in an accident.
The accident involved three lorries and one pick-up.
INJURED
Eye witnesses said one lorry veered off the road, hitting the other three vehicles.
Sachangwan assistant County commissioner Peter Mutiso who confirmed the accident said no fatalities were reported.
“The two [who were] injured were taken to Nakuru Level Five Hospital for treatment,” said Mr Mutiso.
A nurse at the facility told the Nation on Thursday that the two were responding well to treatment and were out of danger.
QUESTIONS
However, questions abound on how traffic officers along the dangerous stretch quickly cleared the scene of the accident, and, when contacted, the Rift Valley traffic enforcement officer Zero Arome denied having been briefed of the accident.
Molo Traffic base commander Moses Nderitu could not be reached on phone at the time of the accident.
The accident caused a serious traffic jam along the busy highway.
A car involved in an accident at Sachangwan area on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway is towed away. PHOTO | REITZ MUREITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
DEATHS
Scores of people have died and many others have sustained injuries in accidents along the nearly 40-kilometre stretch between Sobea and Makutano.
Thirty-four people have died in accidents along the section of the busy highway in a period of two weeks.
The notorious section stretches from Sobea, Salgaa, Migaa, Sachangwan and Total Junction near Mau Summit shopping centre to Kamara and Makutano.
It also includes Jolly Farm and Mkinyai areas.
ACCIDENTS
An oil tanker accident in 2009 killed nearly 200 people at Sachangwan area along the highway.
Dark patches of spilled oil, broken glasses, pieces of rubber and mangled remains of motor vehicle parts litter the road section – a grim reminder that the stretch bears a bitter past for many families.
On December 9 seven artistes perished in an accident at Kamara area along the highway.
Their Toyota Probox vehicle collided with a truck transporting chicken feed from Eldoret to Kiambu.
On Tuesday last week, more than 17 people died and a dozen others were seriously injured during a series of collisions involving more than 13 vehicles, including a Modern Coast bus which was headed to Kampala from Nairobi.
INTERVENTION
The series of accidents have prompted the government to intervene in a bid to end the carnage.
Last week the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) boss Engineer Peter Mundinia and Transport and Infrastructure PS John Mosonik toured the stretch.
They announced that the government would spend Sh500 million to construct a dual carriageway in the 50km killer stretch from Sobea to Makutano in a bid to reduce the accidents.
They also said the government would construct a lorry brakes temperatures checking point and holding yard in Kibunja. Most of the accidents on the highway are caused by trucks.
