Residents of Matunda in Bungoma County set a truck ablaze on Saturday after it lost control and killed five people on the Kitale-Webuye road.
Eyewitnesses reported that the truck, which was coming from Webuye town, suffered brake failure, prompting the driver to attempt to regain control before the vehicle rolled over.
Among the victims were two boda boda riders traveling from Kitale towards Webuye, who were killed instantly in the crash.
"The truck was coming from Webuye towards Kitale when it reached the Kiminini Matunda bridge and crashed, killing five people," a witness recounted.
"After losing control, it hit the two motorcycle riders head-on, killing them instantly. Shockingly, the truck crossed over to their lane before knocking them down and rolling over," he added.
Another witness stated, "The vehicle lost its brakes, veered off its lane, and struck both boda boda riders and water vendors who were at the scene."
The residents urged the government to deploy traffic police to control the speeding vehicles at the bridge
Following the incident, residents gathered at the scene, expressing their anger over the frequent accidents in the area.
Efforts by police officers to salvage the situation were futile as they arrived late and were unable to prevent the destruction.
In 2020, a similar tragedy struck at the Webuye-Kaburengu road interchange when a trailer lost control, killing over 10 women who were selling goods by the roadside.
More recently, on March 4 this year, a fatal accident involving multiple vehicles, including a school bus and a trailer, occurred at Kaburengu in the neighbouring Kakamega County along the Eldoret-Webuye highway.
Elsewhere, one person lost their life at the Kinungi blackspot on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, while 16 others sustained injuries in a Saturday night crash. The accident occurred when a pickup truck rammed into a larger truck, leaving several victims in need of medical attention.
