Matatu driver in Umoja crash that killed 12 ignored warnings from approaching train

By CYRUS OMBATI

Nairobi, Kenya: Twelve people died after a train crashed into a bus at a busy level crossing in Nairobi’s Umoja estate on Wednesday, calling attention to dangerous unmanned railway crossings.

At least 21 other passengers are in hospital with various degrees of injuries sustained in the 7am rush hour crash at the Mutindwa stage.

The bus driver is said to have ignored the blaring horn from the approaching train, which smashed into the vehicle and pushed it along the tracks for nearly 200 metres.

Witnesses said the bus stalled on the tracks and just before the impact, the driver, identified as Edward Githae, jumped out and fled. He was arrested hours later.

Railways Police Commandant Kirimi Ringera and his CID counterpart Judy Ndeda said the driver would be charged with causing the deaths of 12 people.

About half of the terrified passengers of the 33-seater Umoinner Sacco bus registration KBQ 474C were caged in the deathtrap, one side of its body ripped off on impact.

Most of the survivors suffered deep cuts on their limbs and upper bodies sustained when they fell out of the wreckage before the train finally came to a stop.

RUSH HOUR

Severed body parts were recovered along the track of the grisly accident.

Among the dead was a middle-aged woman who sold vegetables and other groceries from a stall close to the track.

The road is popular because it connects Outer Ring Road with Buru Buru shopping centre, a shorter route preferred by motorists heading out to Jogoo Road. 

There are market stalls lining the track and the crossing is especially crowded in the morning and evening rush hours. Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero later announced that structures near the railway line would be demolished.

The bus was headed for the city centre while the train was heading to Dandora.

Three people died at the accident scene while the rest succumbed to injuries in hospital. Six were women. Sarah Wanja, a student at the Kenya Institute of Management, who survived the crash, told of the horrifying moments after being discharged from Kenyatta National Hospital.

“The driver of the bus was speeding probably to cross to the other side before the train passed. He ignored the hooting train and screams from passengers to stop,” said Wanja, whose leg was injured.

Wailing relatives and friends of the deceased thronged the Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital. Others said they were yet to trace their loved ones.

Another witness said the train driver, Symon Godia, who survived the accident, jumped off the train and rushed to the nearby God’s Last Appeal Church.

FOUR TIMES

“He knelt down to pray but appeared to be in shock after the accident,” said the witness.

Godia later said he was moving at between 50km and 60km per hour and had hooted at least four times before approaching the crossing.

“Drivers here are notorious. I hooted I think four times to warn that the train was approaching. About 20 metres ahead, I saw the bus on the track but I could do little to stop the train,” he said.

Godia added that even though there are many temporary structures near the scene of the accident, he saw a traffic officer flag down all vehicles near the crossing as the train approached.

But the matatu driver apparently ignored police warnings. The traffic officer who was manning the scene told The Standard he had stopped all other vehicles using Mutindwa Road to allow the train passage but the matatu overtook them and drove past his red line.

“All I saw next was a huge dust cloud as the matatu was being dragged. We mobilised people to go and help remove those who weretrapped and injured,” said the traffic officer.

Most of the victims could hardly explain how the accident happened as they were badly wounded.

A handcart pusher, Francis Omutanyi, who had also stopped to give way for the train, said he saw the driver try to drive past the railway line in spite of police warnings.

“We had all stopped to wait as the train hooted but I saw the matatu try to cross. I heard a huge bang and the vehicle was dragged away. Many people are dead,” said Omutanyi, who insisted the accident was the result of human error.

The government had announced plans to demolish structures that present a risk to occupants of railway line operational corridors and households living near or under electric power lines and way-leaves or in the way of planned by-pass roads.

Yesterday, Rift Valley Railways Chief Executive Officer Darlan De David said they are investigating and collecting information from police to ascertain how the accident happened.

“Wherever there is a level crossing, the rule is that all traffic is held for the approaching train but we are investigating the incident,” he said at the scene.

TRAFFIC FLOW

The owner of the ill-fated matatu, Edward Okelo, refused to take the blame for the accident and instead called for measures to curb such incidents in the future.

“We need a barrier here to warn approaching vehicles whenever a train is near. Let us treat this as a lesson,” he said at the scene of the accident.

And following the incident, a section of youths at the market stoned matatus from the same company, blaming the crews for the deaths. However, police moved in and dispersed the crowd that had gathered along Outer Ring Road and affected traffic flow for hours.