Eight killed in Mwea-Embu Road crash involving tuk-tuk, lorry

Nine people dead after the tuk-tuk they were travelling in collided with a lorry at Murubara along the Mwea–Embu Highway in Kirinyaga county. [Timothy Kariuki, Standard]

At least 8 people have died after a lorry collided head-on with a tuk-tuk along the Mwea-Embu Road in Kirinyaga County on Saturday morning.

Mwea East Sub-County Police Commander Stephen Okal confirmed the crash happened at about 6:45 a.m. near Murubara village, when a lorry travelling from Mwea towards Embu veered into the opposite lane while attempting to avoid potholes and rammed head-on into the tuk-tuk.

Some of the victims were farm workers being ferried in the tuk-tuk to a rice planting job at the Mwea Irrigation Research area, Okal said.

One other person, a 27-year-old woman travelling in the lorry, sustained minor injuries to both knees and was rushed to Kimbimbi Level IV Hospital for treatment.

Police arrested the lorry driver, who is being held in custody pending investigations into the crash.

The bodies of the deceased were moved to Kerugoya Level V Hospital Mortuary for preservation, postmortem examinations and identification.

Both vehicles were extensively damaged and towed to the police station pending inspection.