Five people perished while several others sustained injuries on Sunday morning following a gruesome accident along the Eldoret-Malaba Highway involving three vehicles including an oil tanker.
According to reports, the accident involved a tractor, Probox and the oil tanker in question. Besides the five passengers who perished, two other travellers sustained serious injuries.
The two survivors have since been transferred to the Eldoret Hospital for specialised medical treatment..
The accident occurred at the Murungi Area along the busy stretch at 4 am in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
According to police who arrived at the scene, the oil tanker was moving at a high speed which made the driver lose control resulting to the tanker hitting a tractor before ramming into an oncoming Probox.
The tragic incident claimed lives of five people who were all family members. It is reported they were returning from a wedding in Busia. Two others who sustained injuries managed to jump out of the vehicle.
Drivers of the oil tanker and the tractor escaped without sustaining any injuries.
Julius Meli, the Lugari Sub County Police Commander confirmed the tractor driver and his passengers escaped without injuries, though the passengers aboard the tractor ran away.
"We have arrested the driver of the oil tanker and are pursuing the occupants of the tractor who are at large," Meli added.
Still on Sunday, another head on collision accident was reported along the Mwea-Embu Road at Kariba where a boda boda operator lost his life.
Witnesses reported the motorbike hit the driver's side of the matatu as the rider tried to make a right turn. Unfortunately, the boda boda operator lost his life on the spot.
According to statistics by the National Traffic and Safety Authority (NTSA), about 3,000 people lose their lives in road accidents annually with a majority of the accidents taking place on weekends.
