At least two people have lost their lives and several others were injured in an early Saturday morning accident along the busy Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
The April 6, 2024, accident occurred in the Muguga area of Kikuyu, Kiambu County.
Kikuyu Police Commander Ronald Kirui confirmed the accident saying that a 62-seater bus belonging to Eldoret Express Company rammed into a fuel tanker that had stalled on the road at around 5.30 am.
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Police said the ill-fated Eldoret Express bus was travelling towards Nakuru direction when it rammed into the stationary trailer.
"The bus was heading to Nairobi from Nakuru when the driver lost control and hit the truck from behind," police said.
Police said two people died on the spot while at least 10 others were seriously injured in the accident.
The injured were taken to various hospitals within the Kikuyu area.
The accident caused a huge traffic snarl-up along the busy highway.
Increased road carnage
The Saturday morning accident comes amid increased efforts by authorities to tame the rising cases of road carnage in Kenya.
On Monday night April 1, 2024, at least 10 people lost their lives and several others suffered injuries in multiple car crashes in the Salama area on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
Police said the accident happened at around 8:30 pm when a lorry heading towards the Mombasa direction collided head-on with an 18-seater matatu.
The impact of the collision triggered a new wave of accidents involving other vehicles.
The accident involved the 18-seater matatu registered to Spanish Sacco, the Isuzu lorry, a 14-seater matatu registered to Naekana Sacco, another truck and a saloon car.
The vehicles were travelling through the Mlima Kiu area, a notorious black spot along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
That same Monday night, one student from Chavakali Boys' High School died and several others were injured after a bus belonging to the Easy Coach company they were travelling in was involved in an accident at the Mamboleo area in Kisumu.
Statistics released by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) showed that the number of road accidents in the country between January 1, 2024, to April 1, 2024, had risen compared to a similar period last year.
NTSA said since the year started 7,198 Kenyans have been involved in roads accidents, marking an increase of 1,908 compared to last year.
According to NTSA data, the accidents are from January 1 to April 1.
Among the 7,198 Kenyans, NTSA reveals that 1,189 died from road accidents, 3,316 were seriously injured and 2,693 suffered from minor injuries.
This paints a grim picture compared to the same period in 2023 where deaths from crashes stood at 1,129, those who were seriously injured were 2,435, and at least 1,726 were slightly injured.
NTSA has been conducting a national crackdown amid the rise in fatalities resulting from road accidents in the country.
