By Peter Ochieng
Eight people died on Tuesday morning, after a van rammed into a stalled truck at the Ngata Bridge in Nakuru county.
The accident, along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway occurred at around 5.30am.
Six bodies of adults and two children were retrieved from the wreckage of the van, which was reportedly ferrying people to Kisii for an event.
It is not clear how many people were in the van, but preliminary police reports indicate that only one person survived. The woman is nursing broken legs.
According to witnesses, the truck had stalled at the spot for about three days.
The accident happened hours after six people died on the spot on Monday evening, in yet another grisly road accident.
They died after a lorry and a probox collided in Duka Moja area, along the Kericho – Nakuru highway.
The accident, according to Rift Valley regional traffic commandant, Dorothy Muleke, occured as the driver of the probox was overtaking a fleet of vehicles, before he got into a head-on collision with the lorry.
The probox was reportedly headed to Kericho, while the lorry was moving towards the opposite direction.
One person among those who were in the probox survived, and was rushed to hospital in critical condition.
The accidents come few days after the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), shared statistics of the number of people who have died as a result of road carnage this year.
NTSA in its report says road accidents across the country have claimed at least 1,189 lives, since the beginning of the year.
The deaths which occurred between January 1 and April 1, 2024, signal an increase compared to the same period in 2023, where deaths from accidents stood at 1,129.
Over 7 people have been involved in accidents, since the year started.
“Since the year started 7,198 Kenyans have been involved in road accidents, marking an increase of 1,908 compared to last year, 3,316 were seriously injured and 2,693 suffered from minor injuries.”
