At least 11 people have died in a grisly road accident that occurred in Rongai, Nakuru county in the wee hours of November 6, 2023.
The tragic accident involved a matatu and a lorry at Sobea along the Ngata-Salgaa road in Nakuru.
The matatu was heading towards Nakuru while the lorry was being driven towards Eldoret direction.
Nakuru County Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi, while speaking to K24 TV at the scene of the accident, said the ill-fated matatu was travelling from Kitale and was headed to Nairobi when it was involved in the accident with the lorry in Nakuru.
“Ilifanyika saa tisa alfajiri kati ya lorry na matatu. Matatu ilikua inatoka sehemu ya Kitale ikielekea Nairobi,” Ndanyi said.
The Nakuru police boss further confirmed that eight passengers in the matatu died on the spot.
Ndanyi also said that the lorry driver survived the accident and fled from the scene.
“Dereva wa lorry wakati ajali ilifanyika aliweza kutoweka mpaka sahivi hatujampata. Alitoweka tu baada ya ajali,” the police boss said.
Nakuru Level Five Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr James Waweru said three bodies were taken to the facility while eight others were taken to the county mortuary.
He said that a total of 11 passengers out of 15 who were travelling in the matatu died while three others were admitted to the facility with serious injuries.
“Wenye waliletwa kama wamekufa kwa hii hospitali ni watatu, mwanaume mmoja, mama mmoja na mtoto mmoja wa six months. Kuna wengine wanane unfortunately walipelekwa kwa ile mortuary ya county, ya municipal. So in total, we are talking about 11 deaths out of a total of 15 people who were in that vehicle,” James Waweru said while speaking to K24 TV.
The area where the accident happened is a notorious black spot that has claimed the lives of many travellers in the past years.
Witnesses said the accident happened when it was drizzling in the area. Visibility had significantly reduced at around 6 am when media were reporting at the scene of the accident.
