Man dies after he was knocked down by athlete's vehicle

A middle-aged man died after he was knocked down by a vehicle belonging to 3000M steeplechase World Champion Conseslus Kipruto along the Eldoret-Kapsabet road.

The deceased identified as Raymond Odhiambo succumbed to serious bodily injuries while being resuscitated after he was taken to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) by good Samaritans following the Saturday evening accident.

The driver of the vehicle a Toyota Surf, registration number KBZ 434T fled the scene of the accident leaving the vehicle that landed in a ditch. It was however not clear if the athlete was present when the accident occurred.

A brother-In-Law to the deceased who was informed of the accident explained that he talked to the deceased before he succumbed to his injuries.

“I was informed of the accident by my sister and rushed to the hospital where I found my relative in pain, however he informed me that he was knocked down by a speeding vehicle,” said Jimmy Otina.

He added that the deceased informed him that he was going to claim payment for storage boxes he had made for a client in Mosoriot.

“He is an experienced rider and was going to receive some payments from a client he had delivered orders of metallic boxes that is when he was hit by the vehicle,” Otina noted.

He explained that they attempted to reach to the owner of the vehicle to understand the circumstance that led to the accident but it proved futile.

“We searched for the owner of the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) to at least explain the details but his number goes straight into Voicemail,” he said.

Attempts by The Standard to reach the athlete also bore no fruits as his number does not get through. However text messages get delivered.

The extensively damaged vehicle and the motorcycle were towed to the Eldoret Police Station yard.

The accident comes in the wake of another accident involving athlete Andrew Chepsiya at Sugunanga Acacia area along the Eldoret-Nairobi road.

Javelin champion Julius Yego survived a self-involved accident along the same road after he rammed into a parked trailer truck.

Recently, Kipruto, the 3,000 meters champion was sued at the children court in Eldoret by a woman for child neglect.

The woman claimed that she lived with Kipruto between 2015 and 2016 and that they had a boy, however she stated that the Olympic Champion refused to provide for the child.