Child Among 5 Killed As Two Matatus Ram Into Lorry [PHOTOS]

Five people were killed on Wednesday morning, January 25 after a multiple-car crash occurred along the Nakuru-Gilgil Highway near the Kikopey Trading Centre.

According to a statement by the National Police Service (NPS), the accident involved two Public Service Vehicles (PSV) and a lorry.

The two matatus were attached to the Mololine Bus Companies and Nairobi Bus Company and had collided with the lorry that had stalled along a climbing lane while on the way to Nairobi.

"Today, the 26th day of January 2023 at about 5:00 am, a fatal traffic accident occurred along Nakuru-Gilgil Highway near Kikopey Trading Centre. 

Collage of the wreckages from the scene where two matatus rammed into a stalled lorry at Kikopey, along Nakuru-Gilgil Highway on January 26, 2023. /NPS

"Our preliminary investigations indicate that two matatus belonging to Nairobi and Mololine Bus Companies rammed onto a lorry that was stalled along the climbing lane facing towards Nairobi direction," NPS stated in part.

As a result of the impact, five people (4 adults and 1 child) lost their lives, while several others were injured in the 5 am accident.

According to photos shared by NPS, the matatus were significantly damaged in the crash.

Police launched comprehensive investigations into the matter, whose cause was not immediately established by the time of publication.

"We condole with the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to the injured. We appeal to motorists and all road users to adhere to traffic rules by driving within the legal speed limits, refraining from driving under influence of alcohol and any other form of recklessness on the road," added NPS.

The accident occurred two days after another one along the Kendu Bay-Katito Road saw five female students nursing serious injuries at Nyakach Sub-County Hospital in Kisumu County.

The students, aged between 16 and 17 years, had sustained broken limbs and varying bruises after one of the tyres of the matatu they were travelling in burst before the vehicle veered off the road and overturned.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Nyanza Regional Traffic Boss Joseph Ng'ang'a revealed that the injured persons were lucky to be alive as the driver of the ill-fated matatu fled the scene immediately after the accident.

Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen revealed on December 20, 2022, that the number of Kenyans who died in road accidents in 2022, which he said was more than those of COVID-19. According to him, 4,449 people lost their lives in the last year, a three per cent increase from 2021 when there were 4,271 cases.

CS Murkomen continued by breaking down the cases, noting that there were 403 driver fatalities overall, 1,190 motorcycle riders, and 1,595 pedestrians. In the same 2022 time frame, 1,204 passengers died.