Six people killed, nine injured in Naivasha road accident

Wreckage of a Nissan matatu that was hit by a truck at Nyakairu center in Naivasha along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway.

Six people died in a road accident involving a Nissan matatu and a truck while nine others were seriously injured during the Saturday night accident.

The accident at Nyakairu center 15kms from Naivasha town occurred after the truck hit an oncoming matatu head-on killing five people on the spot.

One person died while undergoing treatment at Naivasha Sub-county Hospital.

Flow of traffic on the busy highway was paralysed as police moved in to tow away the wreckage.  

The driver of the lorry that was heading to Naivasha was among those who died on the spot while passengers in the 2NK matatu that was heading to Nairobi were injured.

According to the Chairman Naivasha Road Safety Association James Kabono, the lorry driver was to blame for the accident.

He claimed that the driver left his lane while overtaking a fleet of vehicles, colliding with an oncoming matatu. “For the last couple of days, we have not had traffic officers on the road and as a result, drivers have been speeding and driving carelessly,” he said.

Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja said that it was time that speed bumps were erected to reduce fatal accidents.

He noted that since the year began, at least six motorcycle operators had been killed by speeding motorists on the section of the road.

“It’s a sad day that we have lost six people in this accident which could have been avoided and it’s time traffic officers contained speeding drivers,” he said.

Naivasha Deputy OCPD John Kwasa confirmed the accident adding that the bodies of the six men had been collected and taken to the area mortuary.

He called on drivers to be cautious adding that as per their data, speeding and careless overtaking was the cause of major accidents on the road.