Family of five survives matatu road crash that claimed lives of 15 travellers

Family of five survives matatu road crash that claims lives of 15 travellers

By Rael Jelimo

Nandi Hills, Kenya: They have no one to thank other than their Maker. How a family survived a horrific accident that claimed the lives of 15 passengers Tuesday morning will remain a mystery.

The family, with other passengers, was travelling in a 14-seater matatu that was coming from Eldoret and was headed to Kisii town. The vehicle had 21 passengers.

The man, his wife and three children, miraculously survived the accident that happened at Chepsangor, in Nandi County along the Eldoret-Kapsabet-Kisii Road.

Fredrick Odhiambo said he was seated next to the driver with one of his children. The two were thrown out of the vehicle through the windscreen.

“The driver was speeding. The brakes then failed. He tried to take charge of the vehicle in vain,” explained Odhiambo, who was happy that his family survived.

Ondiek Ongata, was the other passenger who escaped death, but he lost his parents in the accident. He had gone to Eldoret town with his mother to pick his father, who had been discharged from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Nandi East OCPD Patrick Macharia blamed the accident on human and mechanical error.

“The 14-seater matatu was overloaded. We also suspect there was a mechanical error due to heavy tyre marks left on the road. The driver may have lost control of the vehicle,” said the OCPD. Police arrived at the scene of the accident and found residents struggling to save survivors and remove bodies from the wreckage of the matatu.

“Police found residents had rescued three survivors and removed 10 bodies from the mangled vehicle,” said the OCPD. Tuesday’s accident happened barely two months after another matatu plunged into a valley in the area killing 11 passengers.

According to survivors and witnesses, the matatu screeched for about 400 metres along the meandering road before plunging down the Nandi Hills cliff.

Medical officials at Nandi Hills District Hospital said 14 passengers lost their lives at the accident scene while one at the facility.

“We received 14 bodies from the scene of the accident. One more passenger succumbed to her injuries few minutes after arrival,” said an official at the district hospital.

Treatment

He added that they had attended to six survivors, who included five members of a family, and a male passenger. “We are stabilising them. We will thereafter transfer them to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret for further treatment,” he explained.

Nandi County Deputy Governor Dominic Bittok accused the police of negligence as he questioned why the vehicle was overloaded yet there were several police checkpoints on the road.

“The Nandi County government will definitely take steps to prevent any road accidents in future,” he said. Bittok called for increased police vigilance and cautioned drivers against flouting traffic rules.

“Motorists plying this particular route must exercise caution. The road is winded, which calls for extra vigilance,” he said.