Five people, among them a chief, died on the spot and ten others were seriously injured when a Tanzania-bound matatu rammed a lorry near Shimoni junction in Msambweni District.
Mombasa County’s Tononoka chief Amina Yusuf, Mvita Constituency Development Fund (CDF) committee treasurer Bishara Sharif, her sister Khadija Shariff and the matatu driver died on the spot in the 7pm accident on Saturday night.
The chief and her friends were going to attend a wedding in Tanga, Tanzania, when they perished.
Those injured were rushed to Msambweni District Hospital and later transferred to the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa.
The lorry driver fled the scene after the accident. Police have launched a manhunt for him.
Among those who rushed to the scene were Tourism Minister Najib Balala and Msambweni DC Muzne Abdullatif.
Mr Balala, who assisted with transportation of victims to hospital, called for stiffer penalties on lorry drivers, many who speed at night.
“I travelled on the Voi-Mombasa highway section last Saturday night and saw lorries operating without rear lights and some of them speeding. This is dangerous,” Balala said.
Abdullatif said they would erect bumps on sections of the Likoni-Lunga Lunga road and also direct police to be stricter on Tanzanian drivers.
“Tanzanian drivers are disciplined in their country, but they appear to throw caution to the wind when they are on our roads. We will direct the police to address this problem,” she told The Standard.
Mangled Wreckage
Police and the Provincial Administration blamed the crash on speeding.
Mr Mudzomba Chirima, a resident, said he heard a bang several metres from his house and later saw bodies scattered on the road.
He said the Mvumoni area was a black spot.
“Vehicles particularly from Tanzania speed on this stretch and often veer off the road,” he said.
Another resident, Mr Daniel Musila Nzambi, urged the Government to erect bumps at the black spot to check vehicles’ speed.
“We have complained about lack of bumps here for long but nothing is done. This is the worst accident so far,” Nzambi said.
Villagers claimed the lorry did not have functioning lights at the time of the accident.
Coast Provincial Traffic Police Enforcement Officer Joshua Omukata confirmed the deaths and said victims were in various hospitals.
“It was a hit-and-run accident. The lorry driver did not stop. We are appealing to members of the public to volunteer information,” Omukata said. The mangled wreckage was towed to Diani police station in Msambweni District.
Diani Police Station traffic base commander Reuben Bett said they received information the lorry driver will surrender.
Source: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=2000039125&cid=159&
