Two people die in grisly road accident at Salgaa

The wreckage of a car involved on a fatal road accident at Teachers area near Salgaa along Nakuru-Eldoret highway on January 1, 2016. Salgaa area has been marked as a blackspot and drivers are advised to exercise caution. (Photo: Kipsang Joseph/Standard)

Nakuru: Two people died in a tragic road accident at Salgaa while two others are nursing serious injuries at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital in Nakuru.

The accident involved a passenger bus that was coming from Nairobi heading to Western, a personal vehicle that was heading to Nakuru town from Molo and a trailer that was heading to Malaba border from Nairobi.

Rongai police boss Joseph Mwamburi said two passengers aboard the personal vehicle died on the spot at around 4am.

Mr Mwamburi said the personal vehicle was overtaking multiple vehicles along the busy stretch when it knocked the passenger bus and later hit the trailer head on.

“The driver of the personal vehicle was overtaking during the early morning incident and unfortunately when he tried to swap, he knocked the trailer head-on and died on spot together with one passenger who was on board,” said Mwamburi.

Bodies of the deceased were taken to Nakuru County morgue while the mangled vehicle was towed to Salgaa police station for inspection.

The accident occurred amid calls for road users to observe traffic rules to avoid accidents. Rift Valley Provincial Traffic Enforcement Officer Mary Omari said accidents were on the rise in the region.

"There has been an upsurge of deaths on our roads in the region for the last two months. It is a worrying trend," said Ms Omari.

Last year the National Transport Authority (NTSA) was forced to deploy a patrol vehicle fitted with speed camera. The vehicle was to patrol along the black spot area on 24 –hour basis, manned by police and an NTSA officer.

The traffic boss cautioned drivers along Eldoret Nakuru highway to slow down at Kibunja area that has been identified as a black spot to avoid accidents.

She said freewheeling and speeding is the main offence committed by drivers on reaching Salgaa, Sachangwan and Kibunja areas where most accidents have been reported in the past.

"Drivers should slow down on reaching Kibunja and ensure they observe traffic rules. There are newly installed bumps and signs that if well observed, number of accidents reported will reduce," she said.

The stretch of the road between Molo General Service Camp, Sachang'wan, Migaa and Salgaa are black spots with most accidents linked to speeding and illegal overtaking.