Thirteen people have been reported dead and one has been badly injured due to a three-car accident in the Ngata area of Nakuru County along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.
The tragic incident occurred on April 9, 2024, at approximately 5:30 a.m. According to Kenya’s traffic police, two trucks and a passenger van were involved in the collision. A speeding truck collided with the passenger van, causing it to crash into a stalled truck at Ngata Bridge. Tragically, 13 individuals lost their lives, while one person sustained severe injuries.
The truck registration number KBZ 032N was coming from Eldoret and was heading to Nakuru, while the passenger van registration number KBB 584R was heading to Kisii for an event when the accident happened.
According to Tom Odera, the Rift Valley Regional Police Commander, the truck traveling from Eldoret to Nakuru lost its brakes, collided with the passenger van, and then slammed into a stalled truck by the side of the road, killing people on the spot and leaving only one survivor.
Odera added that the private van was carrying at least 15 people to Kisii for an event, but unfortunately, they did not make it to their destination.
He also revealed that the police were able to retrieve six adults and two children from the wreckage.
“Preliminary reports show that this three-car accident happened due to reckless driving by the truck driver who was coming from Eldoret to Nakuru. His truck lost its brakes, then he hit the passenger van, and this made it ram into the stalled truck,’’ Odera narrated.
He also emphasized that this accident was also a result of over speeding, yet the road is narrow because it is under construction, hence the reason why the truck driver hit the passenger van because he was dodging to hit the stalled truck, but all this was in vain because the passenger van rammed into the stalled truck.
However, one of the people who lives by the roadside, James Kemei, said that this accident would not have happened if the stalled truck had been removed because it had spent three days by the roadside without any police intervention.
“There is negligence amongst Kenyan police in traffic management because if this stalled truck had been removed from the road, this accident would not have happened,” Kemei added.
The dead bodies had been moved to the Nakuru Annex Funeral Home, while the lady who was rescued from the wreckage was rushed to Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital in a critical condition.
He further urged motorists to stop driving recklessly and check the brakes of their vehicles, to avoid road accidents because the roads in Kenya are slippery and some are under construction, yet the weather is rainy and not favorable.
He also said that the truck driver who caused the accident escaped but efforts are being made to trace him.
