Four traders were crushed to death while scores of others were injured by a speeding lorry at the popular Soko Mjinga market along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
The 6am accident near Flyover trading center in Magumu Nyandurua County occurred after the driver of the lorry lost control hitting two vehicles and the traders.
There were fears that the number of fatalities could rise as eleven people were rushed to Naivasha sub-county hospital, six were in critical condition.
The accident paralysed operations on the busy market and the nearby highway as police moved in to collect the bodies and tow away the wreckages.
According to Jackson Mwangi who is a trader at the market, the lorry first hit a matatu that was picking passengers near the market and an oncoming personal car.
Mwangi added that in the process scores of traders who were busy selling their wares to customers around the market were hit by the lorry.
The shaken trader added that three of the traders died on the spot.
Njabini OCPD Charles Rotich confirmed the incident adding that the fourth victim died while undergoing treatment in Naivasha.
He added that the driver of the truck fled from the scene soon after the accident adding that they had launched a manhunt.
“We had a tragic accident at Soko Mjinga center where we lost four men after the driver of a lorry rammed into two vehicles before losing control and hitting the traders,” he said.
In Muniu Village in Naivasha, residents woke up to a rude shock to find the body of a middle-aged man dumped along the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu road.
It’s suspected that the victim who did not have any identification documents was murdered elsewhere and ferried to the scene by the killers.
This brought to nine the number of people who have been murdered and dumped along various roads in Naivasha in the last three months.
Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru confirmed the incident adding that the body had been collected and taken to Naivasha mortuary.
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“We were informed about a body that had been dumped off the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu road and we have started the process of identification,” he said.
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