Four killed, six injured in Langata Road crash

Rongai matatu at Lang'ata police station after an accident. Five people lost their lives. PHOTO: DAVID GICHURU/STANDARD

NAIROBI: Four people died and six others were injured yesterday when a matatu veered off the road and overturned along Langata Road, Nairobi.

Four of the people injured had life-threatening injuries, police said.

The matatu was ferrying passengers from Ongata Rongai to the city centre when the accident happened near Langata Police Station at mid-day.

The driver of the matatu lost control as he approached a roundabout and veered off the road allegedly to avoid hitting a car.

Police officers from the station, soldiers from the nearby Lan'gata Baracks and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers joined in efforts to free passengers trapped inside the vehicle.

Nairobi Traffic Commandant Leonard Katana said they suspect the driver was speeding at the time of the accident.

"Some of the survivors have said the driver was speeding at the time of the accident. We are investigating before we take action," he said.

In a separate incident, two people died on the spot while several others sustained serious injuries in another accident along Muhoroni-Londiani road.

The accident involved a matatu ferrying passengers to Nairobi and a lorry which was heading in the opposite direction.

According to witnesses, the accident occurred when the driver of the lorry attempted to avoid a hitting a pothole before losing control and ramming on the oncoming Matatu.

Regional Traffic and Enforcement Officer Andrew Naibei confirmed the incident, saying that the lorry driver was driving on the wrong lane at the time of the accident.

"The driver of the lorry who is yet to be identified was avoiding potholes which resulted to a head on collision with the oncoming matatu," he said.

He said that the other victims who sustained serious injuries were rushed to the nearby hospitals.

Meanwhile, police in Kiambu are investigating the killing and dumping of a body in a coffee plantation in Kiamumbi area.

The rotting body was discovered by pedestrians.