By Philiph Mwakio
Three people died in a grisly road accident at the Kibarani Railway flyover, Mombasa County early Saturday morning.
Twelve passengers were also hurt and were taken to hospital in critical condition after a bus they were travelling in towards Mombasa from Kitui rammed into the side of a truck as the two vehicles approached the flyover.
Police are blaming reckless driving for the 5.00 am auto-crash that brings the death toll from such crashes on the same stretch of road in Mombasa to 20 in four weeks.
Coast Provincial Traffic Police boss Mr Julius Omukata said that several passengers who were on the right side of the bus died or suffered injuries in the early morning crash.
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“This is a sad event and three people have died in this grisly accident. We believe the bus driver was speeding,” said Omukata who urged drivers to exercise care when driving downhill at the spot.
According to the officer, most drivers get overwhelmed when speeding down the slope causing accidents.
Reports indicate one of those killed was an infant.
It is alleged the driver of the Mash Poa bus was attempting to overtake the slow moving truck on a one way downhill track when he rammed into the truck’s left side tearing off the entire edifice of the bus’ right side.
The impact tore passengers’ and their luggage killing three less than 2 kilometers to their destination.
A somber mood engulfed Mombasa as news of the early morning crash broke out with relatives with passengers onboard rushing to the scene to catch a glimpse of the incident.
Others made it to the Coast Provincial General Hospital where the injured were rushed to by good Samaritans.
Coast Provincial Traffic Police boss, Mr Julius Omukata said that several passengers who were on the right side of the bus suffered injuries in the early morning crash.
One of the injured passengers , Mr Michael Kalenga told The Standard on Sunday that they were looking forward to arriving in Mombasa safely.
‘’The accident happened as we were descending down hill ,’’ said Kalenga who suffered a broken left leg.
Police said investigations into the accident are ongoing.
‘’It is another sad day on our roads as we have lost lives. My appeal is to drivers and all road users to exercise caution on the roads at all times,’’ the police boss said.
