The 7 died on the spot while six other people were admitted to hospital/CAPITAL NEWS
Among the dead were five of the 11 passengers aboard the Limuru-bound matatu, one person aboard the truck – which was ferrying fish from Mbita to Gikomba market in Nairobi – and the motorcyclist.
According witnesses, the truck lost control while overtaking a trailer before it hit a motorcyclist who died on the spot. It then veered to the opposite lane and collided with an oncoming matatu.
The seven died on the spot while six other people with injuries were admitted to the PCEA Hospital, Kikuyu following the accident that occurred at 7.45am.
Johnson Kimamo a lucky survivor from the matatu said: “I was seated next to the door but there was a truck trying to overtake a trailer which was making a wide turn. When it moved closer on our side I just closed my eyes then heard a loud bang,” said Kimamo who only complained of pains on his thigh and ribs.
Kimamo who works for Kenya Power in Limuru boarded another vehicle to his workstation where he was taken to Tigoni District Hospital, was treated and discharged.
The lorry driver, George Okumu Okoth sustained serious head and chest injuries and fractures on his lower limbs while the matatu driver also suffered chest injuries and a broken left arm.
Deputy traffic police commandant Samuel Kimaru told journalists at the scene that initial reports indicated the driver of the truck was speeding.
Kimaru said that the truck slightly hit the trailer before it rammed the motorcyclist who died on the spot and then veered to the opposite lane, colliding with the Limuru-bound matatu.
“We have been informed that the driver of the truck was at high speed when he was approaching this sharp bend and the road is also narrow. Overtaking is one of the factors that we know has caused fatal crashes. We want drivers to continue driving safely… not over speeding and overtaking,” said Kimaru urging drivers to exercise caution on the roads as the year comes to an end.
“Drivers must continue being careful, it is a song we have sang over and over again… people say that God has a hand in the timing of accidents but it is not that was. God did not make vehicles neither did he make roads. It is just our carelessness,” emphasised Kimaru.
He said that the number of accident causalities had gone down by to 313 from 413 reported as at the December 30, 2010.
Seven hundred and seventy six people have also been seriously injured while a further 515 slightly injured from accidents this month.
He attributed the decline to the road safety campaigns that had brought on board all stakeholders.
“We have not conducted major crackdowns on the roads; we were just tough on enforcement of the laws in addition people were lot more informed on the matters of traffic,” he added.
Most of the fatalities recorded in December alone involved pedestrians at130. In total 3,271 people have died on Kenyan roads in 2011.
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