Motorbike rider dies in Mau Narok-Nakuru highway accident

By , K24 Digital
On Tue, 6 Dec, 2022 18:14 | 3 mins read
An accident that occurred at Suswa area along the Narok- Maai Mahiu highway last week. PHOTO/KNA

A rider died on the spot after he lost control of his motorbike at Enabelbel area along the Mau Narok- Nakuru highway.

Narok county police commander John Kizito said the rider Samson Mwangi was carrying one pillion passenger when the bike swerved towards his left side and crashed into a culvert.

The police boss said the pillion passenger by the name Joseph Maina fled from the scene of the accident and did not report the incident to the police as expected saying he was being sought to record a statement.

“When you are involved in such an incident, it is good to inform the police and record a statement of what happened so as to help in the investigations.

"I call upon the pillion passenger who survived the accident to volunteer and record a statement,” said Kizito.

The body of the deceased had no visible injuries and was transported to the Narok County Referral Hospital morgue for preservation.

The accident happened only two days after a driver of a Probox died and six other were seriously injured when the vehicles they were traveling in were involved in a road accident at Suswa area along the Narok- Maai Mahiu highway.

The police have since called on motorists to be vigilant when plying along the highway so as to avoid causing accidents, especially during this festival season.

“We are entering a festival season when many people will be travelling to the up-country for the Christmas holiday.

"I call upon all motorists to be very careful while driving along the highways to avoid causing accidents,” he said.

Road accidents report

In September, National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) raised alarm over the rising numbers of road accidents in the country.

The authority in a report revealed that a total of 1,968 people lost their lives in road accidents from January to May.

The figure translates to a 9.3 per cent increase from the number of deaths recorded in a similar period in 2021 with pedestrians making the bulk of the fatalities.

Grim statistics show with a week in September at least 30 Kenyans lost their lives on the country’s roads.

These included six people who succumbed to injuries they sustained in a road crash along Thika-Garissa Highway. 

A head-on collision between a bus and a personal car in the Molomu area between Kanyonyo market and Kivandini market was blamed on the carelessness of the drivers.

The accident came just a day after five people died when a train rammed into a lorry carrying labourers from a construction site in Ruiru, Kiambu County.

Authorities stated that the driver of the lorry underestimated the train’s speed, causing the accident which left 12 labourers nursing serious injuries.

At the same time in September, seven people lost their lives in an accident at Silanka area along the Bomet-Narok road.

The accident involved an Ena coach matatu that was heading to Nairobi and a trailer heading to Bomet. 

In Kitui, 12 people died when a speeding matatu they were travelling in veered off the road and rolled several times shortly after branching at the Kanyonyoo junction. 

Elsewhere, one woman died on the spot when the bus she was travelling in left the road and rolled at Losengeli area in Sabatia, Vihiga County. 

The statistics come even as the authority plans to operationalise the Integrated Transport Management System (ITMS) to address the surging cases of road accidents which will be active by the end of the month.

NTSA Director-General George Njau says the new system will allow police officers to automatically gather information and recommend appropriate action for traffic offenders.

“At the end of June, we shall roll it out countrywide where police will be equipped with smart applications to help them automatically collect key road data for easy action,” he stated.

He added: “The new application will involve having modern speed limit checkers [and] authenticating valid road users’ documents, among others.” 

On the other hand, the government has threatened severe sanctions on motorists and Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) contravening the terms and conditions for the PSV Operator’s license during processions in campaign processions in the country.

This comes even as the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) revealed it had constructed more than 1,000km of walkways for pedestrians across the country with the lion share being Nairobi with 500km.

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