At least eight people have been confirmed dead after a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) they were travelling in was involved in a grisly road accident on Sunday Morning January 2.
The incident which occurred along the busy Eldoret -Webuye Highway, involved a 14-seater matatu and a trailer.
Confirming the incident, Kakamega County Police Commander Hassan Barua, stated that the matatu rammed into a stationary truck at the Musembe area.
First responders rushed to the scene of the accident to save some of the people who survived the accident with different degrees of injuries.
“The matatu, a part of the 2NK Sacco, was heading to Nairobi from Bungoma when it hit the lorry from behind at Musembe. Our officers rushed the injured passengers to Webuye Sub-county Hospital,” the police commander, Mr Barua stated.
Reports indicated that eight people including the driver of the matatu died on the spot while the rest who survived were rushed to the nearby health facilities for treatment.
Police in the area could not immediately establish the cause of the road early morning crash but launched an investigation to establish the cause.
To contain the situation, law enforcement officers pitched camp in the area controlling the traffic flow that had started building up along the Highway.
The accident comes just hours after a driver who was transporting miraa died when the vehicle he was driving overturned at Bangali shopping centre in Tana River County, along the Kitui-Garissa road.
The driver was heading towards Garissa when he lost control of his vehicle after a tyre burst. The vehicle rolled several times, fatally injuring him.
“The other person was not injured. He was even calling his colleagues informing us of what was going on. He later informed us that Lawrence had passed on. I was coming back from Garissa when I found the wreckage,” stated Dorcas Kathambi who arrived minutes after the car crash.
Police had earlier issued advisory to all road users urging them to maintain caution and observe all traffic rules during the festive season.
