On Thursday, May 19, the driver of the Embassava Sacco bus that crushed a 17-year-old boy disputed claims that the teen was thrown out of the bus for lacking Ksh20 bus fare.
The boy, according to the embattled driver, was reaching out for his phone that had fallen outside the bus.
“I ferried people from Pipeline, heading to town. When we got to Quarry (Kware), the conductor signalled me to stop to allow passengers to alight.
“In the process of switching lanes, I felt like I had stepped on something like a stone. When I checked the side mirror, I saw it was a person,” noted the driver of the ill-fated bus.
Embassava Sacco chairman, Benson Njoroge, concurred with the driver but also apologised to the family.
“I talked with the brother (of the deceased). He told me his brother had forgotten his phone by mistake.
“While going for the phone, he shoved the conductor and fell,” Njoroge added.
Angry motorists and passers-by who witnessed the accident burned the bus, accusing the conductor of pushing the boy out of the speeding bus.
The tout, who was set to be lynched, escaped after the driver parked the bus on the side of the road.
“Even if the conductor pushed that person out, he wouldn’t have fallen underneath the bus. He would have fallen away from the bus,” a Sacco official defended the accused.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), on May 8, launched a nationwide campaign to flush out motorists contravening traffic laws and regulations.
A multi-agency unit was deployed to mount roadblocks and scrutinise official documents availed by motorists. NTSA, in April 2023, stated that it had recorded 1072 deaths between January and March 2023.
Speeding, crossing at undesignated places, distracted driving or walking, and drunk driving were cited as the major causes of accidents.
