Driver dies after truck loses control in Kakamega

Members of the public mill around the trailer that lost control at Iguhu along Kakamega-Kisumu high and overturned leaving the driver dead. [Duncan Ocholla| Standard]

A truck driver died after his vehicle overturned at Iguhu along the Kakamega-Kisumu highway.

A motorist who claimed he watched the accident happen said the driver lost control of the vehicle when he tried to negotiate a corner just before River Yala.

“I was behind the trailer. It was loaded and the driver appeared to be in a hurry,” said Martin Waweru, a motorist.

The Kakamega Central Police Station base commander, Zephaniah Kamurren, said the driver had not yet been identified as he had no documents, adding that officers were investigating the accident to establish its cause.

The body was taken to the Kakamega County General Hospital mortuary.

“I am appealing to drivers to drive carefully. Most of them do not observe traffic rules and end up causing accidents that could easily be avoided,” said Mr Kamurren.

According to him, the truck’s brakes could have failed, making it difficult for the driver to control it.

Waweru claimed that the truck driver was speeding.

“I stopped and rushed to the scene but the driver was already dead,” he said.

Wrong side

According to Waweru, other motorists kept warning the truck driver with flashlights but he kept driving on the wrong side of the from Kakamega town to where the truck crashed.

Police officers had a difficult time controlling a crowd that gathered at the scene. Many of the area residents complained that police had stopped them from carrying away the bags of maize the truck had been transporting.