Three people were killed and several others were injured when the vehicle they were travelling in lost control and collided with a stationary truck along the Isinya-Kitengela Road in Kajiado County on Monday, January 8 morning.
In a statement, the National Police Service said that the incident occurred at about 6:40 a.m. in the Kisaju area and involved a Toyota Matatu and an Isuzu Lorry.
Preliminary investigations by officers from Isinya Police Station indicate that the Matatu driver attempted to overtake the stalled truck but instead lost control and hit the truck on the rear right.
“Due to the impact, two unknown females and one male adult passenger died on the spot, while other passengers with injuries were rushed by to various hospitals,” police said.
The accident caused a traffic snarl-up on the busy road as police and rescue teams cleared the scene.
The bodies of the deceased were moved to the Shalom Hospital Mortuary.
In another incident, the driver of a matatu lost his life on Monday morning along the Narok-Bomet highway, involving two vehicles.
The accident happened at Tegero along Narok/Bomet Road and involved a Toyota Hiace Matatu belonging to Transcar Galaxy Sacco and a Mitsubishi Fuso lorry after a head-on collision.
The accident, according to eyewitnesses, happened at about 1 a.m. as the matatu was headed for Nairobi.
The Matatu driver died on the spot, while five passengers were seriously injured and eleven passengers were slightly injured.
The injured were rushed to Narok County Referral Hospital.
“NPS officers from Ololulunga Police Station are processing the scene of the accident,” police said in a statement.
According to data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), between January 1 and December 20, 2023, some 4,139 people were killed in road accidents, compared to 4,517 in the same period in 2022.
Although this figure represents a decrease from the 4,517 fatalities recorded in the preceding year, it underscores the ongoing challenge of road safety.
Additionally, data from January 1 to December 20, 2023, reveals that 21,684 individuals were involved in road accidents during this period.
According to the World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety, between 3,000 and 13,000 Kenyans lose their lives in road traffic crashes every year.
The majority of these people are vulnerable road users: pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists. In addition, almost a third of the deaths are passengers, many of whom die on unsafe public transport.