Fourteen people have been killed in roads accidents over the last two days in Malindi and Bungoma.
On Friday evening, a crash claimed seven lives at Gede area along the Malindi–Mombasa highway.
Malindi police commander George Naibei said a 14-seater matatu travelling from Malindi to Mombasa collided head on with a truck, killing seven people on the spot. Eight others sustained serious injuries.
Among the dead in the 6.30pm accident were the driver and conductor of the matatu.
“The injured victims were rushed to the Malindi Sub-county Hospital in critical condition,” he said on phone.
Witnesses said the lorry driver lost control of his vehicle after a tyre burst, ramming into the matatu. “The lorry had slipped and veered off the road. When the driver tried to regain control, it swayed, hitting the matatu at the Kenya Forest Station area. The matatu had just picked passengers at the Gede junction,” said the witness.
Critically injured
Among the dead were a mother and her son who had boarded the matatu at Gede on their way to Mida.
In Bungoma, seven people died yesterday morning when the matatu they were travelling in collided with a Modern Coast bus on the Webuye-Bungoma highway.
The matatu, belonging to Western Townace Sacco, was heading to Webuye when it hit the bus heading the opposite direction.
Six people were killed on the spot. The seventh passenger died while receiving treatment at Webuye Sub-county Referral Hospital.
“It’s painful to lose my brother in the morning accident yet we lost another one last week. It is unfortunate that the matatu driver was drunk,” Moses Sabatio, a local, said.
Six other passengers were critically injured and are receiving treatment.
“Careless driving is claiming lives. We need to reduce the number of accidents by observing traffic rules,” Bungoma East police Commander Valerian Obwore said.
SOURCE: standardmedia.co.ke
