KURA Sheds Light on 3 Employees Dying in Eldoret Accident

Scene of the accident where a matatu collided with a tractor on Eldoret-Turbo Road on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
Scene of the accident where a matatu collided with a tractor on Eldoret-Turbo Road on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
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The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) on Thursday, November 24, announced that three of its staff members succumbed after the authority's vehicle they were travelling in was involved in an accident along Eldoret Southern bypass near Sosiani Bridge.

The authority noted that the trio were among the six individuals who died in the accident that occurred on the evening of Wednesday, November 23, at 6:30pm.

The other three victims were the driver of a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) and its two passengers.

The authority indicated that a tractor loaded with a Sheller emerged suddenly from a feeder road causing confusion to the two drivers - that of the KURA vehicle as well as the that of the PSV.

Scene of the accident where a matatu collided with a tractor on Eldoret-Turbo Road on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
Scene of the accident where a matatu collided with a tractor on Eldoret-Turbo Road on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
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"Preliminary information from eyewitnesses confirm that a tractor loaded with a Sheller emerged suddenly from a feeder road and caused confusion and panic among the two drivers leading to an head-on collision.

"The traffic police and members of the public managed to rush the injured to Moi Teaching and Referral hospital. Six lives were unfortunately lost in this accident, three of them being our staff and another three being driver and passengers in the Public Service vehicle heading to Kitale," read a statement signed by KURA Director General John Cheboi.

KURA indicated that the authority had reached out to the families of the deceased as investigations into the incident continue.

"We condole with the families, friends and relatives of the bereaved and pray God to give them strength in this difficult time.

"We shall continue to update the public as the police undertake investigations and search for the owner of the tractor which disappeared from the scene," added the statement.

The 14-seater matatu involved in the accident was en route to Kitale from Nairobi.

In an address to the press, Uasin Gishu police commander Ayub Gitonga noted that the drivers of both the matatu and the parastatal were among those who died on the spot.

The wreckage of the vehicles were towed to the nearby Yamumbi police station. 

File image of Traffic police inspecting a PSV matatu
File image of Traffic police inspecting a PSV matatu
File
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