Haunting echo: Families of crash victims in tears as survivors tell their painful tales

Mercy Chepkurui at Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital in Nakuru on July 1, 2023. She is among the survivors of the Londiani Junction Hospital [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

At the funeral parlour of the Kericho County Hospital mortuary, Betty Cherono welled up with tears as she pleaded for news regarding her husband, Samuel Kimgetich, aged 54, who had a regular habit of lingering around the roadside market at Londiani junction every evening.

The horrifying road accident occurred on Friday evening at Londiani junction, resulting in the tragic deaths of at least 55 individuals, including roadside traders and their customers.

The incident involved a trailer colliding with eight matatus and two private vehicles.

According to the police, 27 bodies have been identified by their respective relatives, and the process of identifying additional bodies is currently underway at both the Kericho County Hospital mortuary and the Londiani sub-county facility.

“Several families have successfully identified their loved ones, and this agonising process is ongoing within the mortuaries. We will persist until every family member is reunited with their kin,” said Geoffrey Mayek, the Kericho police commander. 

Inquiries

Cherono, who displayed a photograph of her husband on her mobile phone, was still awaiting the opportunity to view his body.

“My husband was travelling from Bomet town. We had spoken on the phone, and he had informed me to wait for him at the bus stop so that we could return home together,” said the tearful mother of two.

She recounted that when she dialed his cellphone at 7pm, it was switched off. “I started making inquiries, and it wasn’t until around 10pm that I received the devastating news of his death from individuals who knew him,” Cherono tearfully said.

The Londiani Junction centre presented a terrifying scene, with the wailing sirens of ambulances and police cars resounding in every direction. People screamed as they received assistance from compassionate strangers.

As shocked residents grappled with disbelief, personal belongings and groceries lay scattered across the area, remnants of the horrific accident. A truck collided with at least 10 vehicles, resulting in the tragic loss of a minimum of 50 lives and leaving several others injured.

Residents expressed that the events they witnessed on Friday night would be etched into their memories indefinitely. Eight matatus were mangled and transformed into mere wreckage, leaving one unable to fathom that these remnants were once functional vehicles.

The wreckage was subsequently towed to Londiani Police Station, with the truck cabin and trailer being detached and treated as separate entities.

The incident has ignited anger among the local community, with the police attributing the crash to human error, while the government places blame on excessive speeding and the use of an unfit trailer.

Cause of accident

“My husband could have been alive were it not for reckless truck drivers. They are murderers, all of them,” Cherono screamed out loud.

There has been a bad habit of long-distance truck drivers free-wheeling that could have caused the grisly accident.

Although police are yet to fully establish the actual cause of the accident, sources within the Kericho Traffic Department said free-wheeling is still rampant on that section of the road.

An official of the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) and Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA), who arrived at the scene yesterday, said the driver of the trailer resorted to free-wheeling (where you engage the neutral gear because you want to save fuel) while hurtling downslope at high speed, before losing control of the vehicle.

Mayek said a manhunt for the Rwandese driving the trailer was still on.

Caroline Cherutich, another of the Londiani residents who lost her cousin, Joan Chepchirchir, 38, said the deceased was roasting and hawking maize at the roadside market.

“Joan had just resumed her business after a short break, only to be among the victims of the crash. She wanted to use the school half-term break to raise some money for children’s school needs but ended up dying in the crash,” said Cherutich.

Her body is among those moved to Londiani sub-county hospital mortuary. Charles Koech said his brother, a driver, died in the accident. He said they could not have identified his body were it not for the clothes he was wearing.

Kenya Red Cross South Rift regional manager Jethro Koech said the agency was helping families in tracing their loved ones, and positively identifying their dead relatives.

“We have been around since Friday. We are doing the tracing, supporting families to identify the deceased, doing referrals of the injured to other hospitals, and offering psycho-social support to affected families,” Koech said.

However, 48-year-old Mary Chepkoech Maritim survived the Londiani road crash.

Recounting her ordeal from her hospital bed at Kericho County Hospital, Maritim, a matron at Kirobon Girls Secondary School in Nakuru county, expressed her gratitude for being one of the only two survivors among the eight passengers aboard the ill-fated matatu.

‘Loud bang’

Maritim, who was en route from Kericho to Nakuru, described the accident as an apocalyptic scene that unfolded in an instant, leaving her bewildered and traumatised.

“The accident happened within a twinkle of an eye. I just heard a loud bang and tyres screeching, and people screaming as the lorry rammed one car after another. I can’t recall anything else,” she said.

Despite the chaos and devastation, Maritim managed to escape with soft tissue injuries. She resorted to breaking the vehicle’s window and maneuvering over lifeless bodies in order to make her way out of the accident site.

Reflecting on her harrowing experience, she expressed her gratitude for surviving while so many others perished. “I thank God that I emerged alive in a situation where many people died,” she said.

Recounting the events leading up to the crash, the lucky survivor said the ill-fated Nanaki Sacco vehicle had come to a halt at the Londiani junction, as the conductor sought an alternative means of transportation for the six passengers in her vehicle.

However, tragedy struck before a replacement vehicle could be arranged. “The accident happened before the conductor could get us an alternative vehicle to transport us,” Maritim said.

Furthermore, Maritim said the four passengers from her vehicle, who tragically lost their lives in the incident, had already disembarked prior to the collision.

“They were knocked down just outside the car. An elderly man and I were still inside the vehicle, wondering how we would complete the rest of the journey when the accident occurred,” she said.

Challenges

As Maritim recovers from her injuries, she remains grateful for her survival, grappling with the memories of the catastrophic crash.

Yesterday, Kericho County Hospital’s Emergency Department saw an influx of survivors on Friday night, according to Alice Akoth, a nurse at the facility. She said 19 survivors had been admitted, shedding light on the severity of the accident.

Among the survivors, two victims required immediate surgical intervention. Tragically, one of them lost their lives while undergoing a medical operation in the theater, as shared by Akoth.

The incident highlights the challenges faced by the medical team as they battled to save lives in the midst of chaos and confusion.

Akoth said another survivor, who had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, succumbed to their injuries on Saturday morning.

Currently, three survivors remain under observation while four others are awaiting their reports in the Emergency department.

Akoth said despite the circumstances, all survivors are in stable condition.

Nakuru County Health executive Jacqueline Osoro said the nine survivors had been attended to. The county will waive all medical charges.

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