Catholic priest dies, scores of passengers injured in night pile-up on highway

A Catholic priest died on the spot and several passengers were seriously injured following a road accident involving five vehicles along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

During the accident at Kinungi Trading Centre, 20 people, including children, were injured.

The accident occurred after the driver of a lorry going downhill lost control and rammed into a personal car carrying the priest.

According to Henry Mbugua from Naivasha Safety Group, the lorry also hit another lorry that was heading in the opposite direction.

He said the 2am accident attracted motorists who parked by the roadside to assist those injured or trapped in the wrecks.

"In the process, a bus heading to Western Kenya veered off the road to avoid ramming into the wrecks and ended up hitting a Nissan matatu parked by the roadside," said Mbugua.

Naivasha OCPD Benjamin Boen confirmed the incident, adding that the injured were rushed to Naivasha Sub-county Hospital, where six were admitted.

"We had an accident involving five cars along the highway where a Catholic priest lost his life while scores of passengers were injured," he said.

Meanwhile, scores of motorists were stuck along the Mai Mahiu-Limuru Road for over four hours following an accident involving five trailers.

The situation was worsened by overlapping drivers along the narrow section of the road following the morning accident near Mai Mahui town.

A driver of one of the trucks, Sam Njue, said they were losing tens of hours every month due to the perennial jams on the section of the road.

"Two trailers were involved in an accident crossing one side of the road, and within 30 minutes, the road was impassable due to overlapping drivers," he said.

Njue, who had spent three hours on the road, admitted that the solution lay in expanding the road.

"There is a need to think on how this road can be widened as the traffic flow has also increased," he said.