At least eight persons lost their lives Tuesday night in a road accident that involved a 14-seater matatu and a trailer along the Eldoret-Webuye highway in Lugari.
The accident happened when the matatu, which was moving at high speed, lost control, veered out of its lane, and collided with a stationary trailer carrying fertilizers. Western Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud reported that seven people died instantly, while another died while being rushed to the hospital.
Preliminary reports show that the trailer had been parked by the road after developing some mechanical fault. The driver of the trailer had run away after the accident occurred.
However, five other passengers were badly injured and rushed to the hospital for treatment. In the aftermath of the accident, residents who had gathered at the scene were observed scrambling for fertilizers from the damaged trailer, although rescue operations had not yet ended.
The images and videos widely shared on social platforms showed the matatu to be badly damaged, with broken seats, a smashed windscreen, and flat tires, giving a terrible picture of the accident scene.
This tragedy has once again highlighted the worrying rise in road accidents which have been reported in the country since the start of the month of December, which usually sees lots of travel due to festivities.
According to data, over 30 deaths have been recorded in road accidents this month, in addition to dozens of injuries. According to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), at least 4,458 deaths have been recorded in road accidents from January to December this year. This is an increased number by 147 deaths from the previous year. Most of the deaths are attributed to pedestrians.
