Accident Involving Tractor, Matatu, Parastatal Car Kills 6

Six people were killed on Wednesday night, November 23 in a road accident at the Maili Tisa area on the Eldoret-Turbo Road involving multiple cars.

According to reports, the accident involved a tractor without headlights colliding with an 11-seater matatu on its way to Kitale from Nairobi.

A parastatal vehicle also rammed into the matatu after it was behind it.

Members of the public and the Uasin Gishu County Rescue team arrived at the scene to rescue the survivors.

A yellow tape showing an accident scene. /FILE

The six people died on the spot while several others were injured. The injured were rushed to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).

Uasin Gishu police commander Ayub Gitonga, while confirming the incident, said the drivers of the matatu and the parastatal vehicle were among those killed in the night crash.

A witness had disclosed that the tractor had tried to join the highway at a time when the matatu was travelling at a high speed.

The wreckage of the vehicles was towed to the nearby Yamumbi police station.

The accident comes amidst a recent report by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) explaining why the weekends of Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the most dangerous days on Kenyan roads.

"Most fatal road traffic crashes occur from Friday to Sunday, between 5.00 pm to 10.00 pm. The peak being 8.00p.m," NTSA stated in part on Thursday, November 17.

The authority also revealed that the total number of victims of road accidents shot up from 16,642 in 2021 to 17,550 from January to October 30, 2022.

Deaths also rose from 3,733 to 3,924 while cases of serious injuries went from 8,214 cases to 7,982.

NTSA attributed the weekends as the most dangerous days on the road to reduced enforcement, high volumes of traffic and pedestrians, and driver fatigue.

Other causes were revealed as drunk driving, high speeds on major highways, poor lighting at the pedestrian crossing points and pedestrians crossing at non-designated or unsafe areas, and easily getting knocked by speeding vehicles.

Pedestrians accounted for most deaths which stood at 1,413, followed by motorcyclists at 1,046, passengers (693) and pillion passengers (363).