Tragedy: Family of six dies on the way to funeral

The wreckage of the car involved in an accident near River Malewa along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. [Standard]

The death toll following Monday's road accident in Naivasha rose to six after the last survivor died in hospital while receiving treatment.

The news followed reports that the six victims were members of one family who were travelling to Naivasha for a relative's funeral when the crash occurred along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

The saloon car was hit head-on by a trailer truck near River Malewa and then rammed on the side by another truck, killing five passengers, including a three-year-old child, on the spot.

The driver sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the Naivasha Sub-county Hospital where he later died as distraught relatives tried to come to terms with the loss.

Martin Ndung'u, a relative, said the accident occurred as the six travelled from Njoro to Naivasha on Monday ahead of the burial set for Tuesday.

“I have lost my sister and two nieces, while the others are my cousins and a grandson, who were all in the vehicle,” said Mr Ndung’u.

He added that they were making plans to transfer the six bodies to Nakuru after post-mortems were carried out in Naivasha.

“This is a very painful moment for the family, but we are praying for strength as we prepare to lay them to rest."

Naivasha Deputy OCPD John Kwasa said the driver of the saloon car was overtaking a long queue of vehicles when the car was hit by the two trailers.