Four family members among 6 killed in Makueni crash involving lorry and matatu

Francis Muteti, a turnboy of the lorry that hit a matatu, killing six in Mbooni. He is admitted at Makueni county Referral hospital.[Stephen Nzioka/Standard] Mbooni East Sub-County Police Commander Ibrahim Karani said the lorry, which had already offloaded construction materials, was headed towards the Tawa direction when it rammed into a stationary matatu while passengers were still boarding the vehicle. "The lorry hit the matatu from the rear side, leaving a state of confusion where bodies were scattered on the ground, with 11 other people sustaining injuries. Among the six deceased were a three-year-old child and a student headed home after exams," said SCPC Karani. Musili Ngemu had six of his family members inside the ill-fated vehicle when the accident occurred. His wife and four children, accompanied by two other close family members, had travelled to pick their son who had completed his KCSE examination at Makueni Boys. "All the six who hail from Kitui, Ikanga, had travelled to pick a student after writing his final paper. I learnt about the accident on Friday night through a phone call, and when I arrived at Makueni County Referral Hospital, I was only able to trace two people - the boy who had finished his exam and another child. The rest - Ngumu's wife and his three children - died in the grisly accident," said Catherine Mwanzia, Ngumu's sister. Another family whose kin was headed to a wedding was left mourning. "My wife left home for a wedding ceremony only to end up in the morgue. We are very devastated because of such untimely death. We never expected to be sent into mourning at such a moment," said Mulei Mulinge, whose wife was killed in the Friday night crash. Makueni Health Chief Officer Dr. Harvey Mbithi said they received 11 injured persons. He said among those receiving treatment was an eight-year-old boy under the Intensive Care Unit. "Most of those received had suffered head injuries, fractures and soft tissue injuries, and our medics have been able to stabilise those who came in a bad state. There is a boy who came in critical state and has been taken into ICU, then we have another patient with both legs broken," said Dr. Mbithi. The matatu driver was among those admitted, while the lorry driver escaped the scene, with police now hunting him. Jackson Mutiso, one of those who escaped death from the lorry, said, "The driver of the lorry was careless. We complained all along from Tala Quarry, Machakos, until the time of the accident. We couldn't tell exactly what the problem with him was." On Saturday morning, Makueni Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili visited those admitted at MCRH, where she cautioned drivers to be careful on the road as the festive season approaches. "The County Government will waive bills for all those treated in our health facilities," she said, affirming the government's willingness to support the admitted.

Four family members among 6 killed in Makueni crash involving lorry and matatu

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Four family members among 6 killed in Makueni crash involving lorry and matatu

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