15 people passed away today morning, Tuesday, January 9, after a bus and a matatu collided along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
The National Police Service (NPS) stated that the accident occurred at around 2:45 am at the Twin Bridge area.
According to the police, the bus belonged to the Classics Kings of Congo and the matatu is managed by the North Ways Shuttle Sacco.
Immediately after the accident occurred, police from Mau Summit Police Station were deployed to cordon off the area and prevent other accidents from occurring at the scene.
Police also attended to other victims, but were yet to reveal the total number of those who were injured.
"The injured were rushed to Molo Sub-County Hospital," NPS stated in a statement issued today morning.
However, it was also yet to be clear whether the death toll was expected to rise. NPS did not also reveal the cause of the morning accident and did not clarify whether investigations into the carnage had commenced.
Photos shared by the police, nonetheless, indicated showed the bus severely damaged in the front, with its windshield and lights shuttered. Its front tyres were also missing indicating that debris was scattered across the road, posing a significant danger to other road users.
Conversely, the matatu was deformed, as the impact of the head of the collision forced the vehicle to buckle.
"The National Police Service is appealing to all motorists to exercise extreme caution on our roads to prevent road crashes," NPS cautioned motorists to observe traffic laws.
This incident occurred barely 19 hours after three passengers died in a road accident involving a matatu and a lorry at Kisaju along the Isinya/Kitengela road. According to the police, the accident occurred at around 6:40 am.
"Preliminary investigations by officers from Isinya Police Station indicate that the driver of the matatu attempted to overtake the stalled lorry but instead lost control and hit the said Lorry on the rear right.
"Due to the impact, two unknown female and one male adult passengers died on the spot while others were rushed by good Samaritans to various hospitals. Bodies of the deceased were moved to Shalom Hospital Mortuary," NPS stated.
Statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) indicate that 4,139 people were killed in road accidents between January 1 and December 20, 2023, compared to 4,517 in the same period in 2022.
