Grief engulfed Sagana area in Murang'a county after one person died following a Thursday afternoon, August 18, accident that occurred when a lorry collided with two Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) and four personal cars in Kambiti, along the Nairobi-Meru highway.
Media reports indicated that the lorry ferrying beer, which was en-route to Sagana, lost control after the brakes failed, ramming into six other vehicles.
The two PSVs were two matatus from 2NK Sacco, which were ferrying different students to their designated schools.
The students were from Nyeri high, Endarasha Boys in Kieni, and Kaheti in Mukurwe-ini and were heading to school.
According to police officers who spoke to the press, those who sustained injuries were rushed to Murang'a county hospital.
At the time of publishing this article, two vehicles (a lorry and a personal vehicle) remained at the scene after five of the vehicles had been towed away to the nearest police station.
The accident comes on the day that students reported back to school after a two-week break that was announced by the Ministry of Education to allow the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to prepare and conduct August 9 elections.
The incident mirrors a similar tragedy that occurred at the same spot in December 2021 after a matatu, ferrying Chongoria Girls High School students, collided with a lorry.
Three students died on the spot. Witnesses at the scene confirmed that the lorry lost control and rammed into the matatu.
According to the latest data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) within the past seven months, 2,696 fatalities had been recorded, including 957 pedestrians, 741 motorcyclists, 247 drivers, 471 passengers, 245 pillion passengers, and 35 pedal cyclists.
The majority of these accidents included collisions between PSVs, motorcycles, lorries oil tankers and buses.
