12 Killed in Two Separate Accidents in Garissa, Murang’a
At least 12 people were killed in two separate accidents reported in the country.
Police said dozens of others were wounded in the accidents leaving many families struggling with hospital bills.
The first accident happened on Friday July 12 morning along the Garissa-Mwingi highway involving a passenger bus and another vehicle where seven people were killed on the spot.
Police said the accident happened at Katumba area at about 1.30 am.
A bus belonging to Al-Mukaram Bus Service Company was racing from Garissa general direction heading towards Nairobi carrying 50 passengers when it was involved in the accident.
Survivors said on reaching at the location of the accident the driver was trying to overtake an unknown motor vehicle which did not stop after the accident and as he was trying to get back to his lane in order to avoid a head-on collision when he rammed onto the near side of a trailer ferrying gypsum.
The trailer also from Garissa’s direction had stalled on the road due to a mechanical breakdown, police said.
As a result of the accident, seven people were confirmed dead while more than 40 were evacuated to various hospitals.
The bodies were moved to the local hospital mortuaries, police said.
Elsewhere in Maragua area, Murang’a, police said five other people were killed in an accident on Thursday evening.
The accident happened at Kagumo along the Murang’a-Kenol road and involved a salon car and a truck headed for Murang’a.
The truck is said to have first hit the salon car forcing it off the road.
Five people who were on board died on the spot, police said. They included the driver and four passengers.
Locals protested the accident and blamed speeding for the same. They lit bonfires and demanded speed bumps be erected at the scene.
Police arrived there and pleaded with them saying they would take the message to the relevant authorities.
The bodies were moved to the mortuary.
These are the latest accidents to happen in the country. Up to 30 people have been killed in the past separate accidents in an alarming rate.
Up to 4,000 people are killed annually in separate accidents. There is a campaign to address the menace.