The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has launched investigations into a deadly road crash that claimed the lives of 17 people along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway in Salama, Makueni County.
The accident occurred at about 12.10am on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Mlima Kiu, where several vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction collision.
NTSA said it had dispatched a multi-disciplinary crash investigation team to Salama to support the National Police Service in establishing the circumstances that led to the accident.
“In supporting the National Police Service, the Authority has dispatched a multi-disciplinary crash investigation team to Salama to establish the full circumstances leading to the crash, including vehicle inspection and compliance,” NTSA said in a statement.
The authority also identified the Mlima Kiu-Salama stretch as a blackspot and said recommendations had previously been made to address safety concerns along the corridor.
The crash involved a Howo Sinotruk, a Hino truck, a Peugeot, a Toyota Noah, a Toyota Hiace PSV matatu and a Nissan UD truck.
According to police, the Sinotruk was travelling from Nairobi towards Mombasa when its driver allegedly failed to keep to his lane while overtaking a fleet of vehicles.
The truck reportedly rammed into the rear right side of a Hino truck travelling in the same direction, causing the driver to lose control.
The Sinotruk then collided sideways with an oncoming Peugeot and a Toyota Noah, both of which were travelling from Mombasa towards Nairobi.
Police said the truck subsequently swerved into the climbing lane, where it collided head-on with a Toyota Hiace matatu carrying 12 passengers.
The out-of-control truck was eventually stopped after colliding with a Nissan UD truck travelling from Mombasa towards Nairobi.
The matatu driver and all 12 passengers died at the scene, according to police.
The driver of the Sinotruk, identified as Shijire, and three passengers who were travelling in the truck also died, bringing the reported death toll to 17.
Several other people sustained injuries in the multiple-vehicle collision and were taken for medical attention.
Police officers visited and documented the scene before the bodies were moved to the Sultan Hamud Sub-County Hospital mortuary, where they were being preserved pending postmortem examinations.
Makueni County Commissioner Khalif Abdullahi said investigations were underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The damaged vehicles were towed to Salama Police Station yard, where they will remain pending inspection as investigators continue their work.
NTSA condoled with the families and loved ones of those who died in the crash and urged motorists to exercise greater caution, particularly along known accident-prone sections of the highway.
“While investigations into this crash continue, we call upon all motorists to exercise extreme caution, avoid dangerous overtaking, and strictly observe lane discipline,” NTSA said.
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