Elderly woman dies in Bomet road crash

An elderly woman died on the spot after she was knocked down by a vehicle on the Mulot-Longisa highway in Bomet.

The crash occurred on Saturday at 10am in Olbobo area near Longisa Trading Centre.

Following the accident, irate residents blocked the busy highway causing a huge traffic snarl up.

It took the intervention of the police to have the barricades cleared to allow traffic to flow as many motorists retreated in fear that their vehicles would be pelted with stones by the residents.

“A Toyota Pick-up travelling towards Mulot from Longisa was involved in an accident where one pedestrian died on the spot after being knocked down in the mid-morning incident,” said Bomet East sub-county police commander Francis Gigeri.

The vehicle involved in the accident was towed to Longisa Police Station. Police said the occupants of the vehicle escaped with minor injuries.

Mr John Langat, a resident of the area, said several people had lost their lives along the highway due to similar accidents.

“The Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha) should erect bumps at black spots in the area, clearly mark the road and put up road signs to reduce accidents,” said Mr Langat.

Kenha has also been on the spotlight for failure to patch up potholes in the highway which has been one of the major contributing factors for accidents reported in the region.

Ms Irene Rotich, a resident said “It is unfortunate that in the past, contractors awarded tenders to patch up sections of the highway have done such a shoddy job that the sections are washed away by storm water during heavy rainfall,”

“Compared to neighbouring counties, it is only the Mulot-Bomet-Kaplong highway in Bomet that is the most affected and neglected over the years. Pleas to relevant government agencies to take decisive action has gone unheeded leading to loss of lives on a daily basis,” said Ms Rotich.