11 people die, scores injured in road accident

By Renson Mnyamwezi

Eleven people died while 13 were seriously injured in a grisly road accident that involved a bus and a trailer along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

Among the dead included drivers of the two vehicles and an infant.

The infant’s mother is admitted in critical condition to Voi District Hospital, Taita-Taveta County.

Police and Moi District Hospital authorities said scores of other victims were treated and discharged.

The accident occurred Saturday at 1am after the bus and trailer collided head on.

The bus was headed to Nairobi from Mombasa while the trailer was going the opposite direction.

The incident comes at a time the Government is still grappling with rising cases of road accidents, fire and alcohol related tragedies that have hit several parts of the country.

More than 100 people died on Monday in an inferno at Sinai slum, Nairobi.

Taita OCPD Nathaniel Aseneka said 13 accident victims have been admitted in various hospitals.

Five of the victims are recuperating in Voi while seven are at Makindu District Hospital where a Good Samaritan rushed them.

The police boss said the bus driver was trying to overtake another vehicle when he collided with the oncoming truck.

Robbed

A survivor, Mr Rashid Tewa who suffered a broken right leg, blamed the bus driver for the accident.

"The driver was overtaking without calculating the distance of the oncoming vehicle," said the 65-year-old social worker in Tudor, Mombasa.

Tewa said rescuers who rushed to the scene stole mobile phones and money, including other valuables from passengers.

"Some people who arrived at the scene of the accident first were too insensitive to our plight and instead of assisting us they robbed us. It is the will of God that I’m still alive," said the victim from his hospital bed.

Another victim, Dorothy Mbugua, said she was asleep when the accident occurred. "I heard a loud bang and when I regained consciousness I found myself in a hospital bed bleeding profusely," said the 23-year-old woman who sustained injuries to her forehead.

Ms Mbugua said she works as a causal labourer at Sarova White Sands Hotel in Mombasa and was going to Thika to see her mother. "We started our journey well but ended up tragically," said the woman.

The accident comes barely a month after 23 people died in Ukambani while travelling back home from a dowry ceremony.