One person died on the spot and four others were seriously injured in a multiple accident involving eight vehicles at Kinungi area on the Naivasha – Nairobi highway on Monday morning.
Confirming the incident, Naivasha Sub – County Police Commander Mr. Samuel Waweru said the accident which occurred at 5:30am was caused by a lorry whose breaks seemed to have failed, hitting a vehicle from behind.
The other vehicle in turn hit the vehicle that was ahead of it which in turn caused the accident which involved the eight vehicles on the sharp escarpment area of Kinungi.
Mr. Waweru said a middle-aged man who died on the spot was travelling in a Mololine Sacco Nissan matatu which was headed to Nairobi from Nakuru.
The injured who included the driver of the Mololine Nissan matatu and a schoolboy were treated at Naivasha Level Four Hospital and are said to be in a stable but in a critical condition. No one was injured in the sand lorry.
Waweru blamed this multiple accident on reckless driving and poor visibility caused by the darkness and fog that had covered the area.
The body was moved to Naivasha Level Four Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem and further investigations into the accident, while the wreckage of the Nissan matatu which was extensively damaged was towed to Naivasha police station for inspection.
A week ago, eight people died on the spot and four others seriously injured when a Mini bus they were travelling in crashed into a lorry at Mafuta Taa area in Naivasha near Suswa on the Maai-mahiu – Narok highway.
On April 23, this year, a driver of a Toyota probox motor- vehicle belonging to SGS Security Company and two police officers from Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) died on the spot when their the probox crashed into a trailer at Jikaze area on the Naivasha- Maai-mahiu road in Naivasha.
According to the latest statistics from National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), a total of 127 drivers, 225 passengers died, 18 pedal cyclists, and 381 motorcyclists died in road accidents between January and April 11 this year, bringing the number of total fatalities for that period to 688.
NTSA estimates that 3,000 Kenyans die from road accidents every year – costing the country anywhere between 3-5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 83 per cent of the fatalities were men, with individuals aged between 30-34 years being most at risk, thus robbing the country of a very productive age bracket.
Sadly, these numbers have been increasing every year, for instance, data from police indicate that a whopping 4,579 people were killed in accidents in the country in 2021 which is way above the estimated 3,000.
This represents a 17.3 per cent increase from 3,707 people who died in 2020 which is considered to be the highest in five years. 16,046 other people were left nursing injuries as compared to 3,500 in 2020.
Many of the accidents occur over the weekends and holidays with the hours 5pm-8am being considered as peak accident hours with drunk driving and carelessness cited as some of the major causes.
Majority of these fatalities are vulnerable road users – pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists. In addition, nearly one-third of deaths are among passengers – many of whom are killed in unsafe forms of public transportation.
