'Scene from hell': Survivors, locals recount 60-second Londiani horror crash

The accident at Londiani junction on the Nakuru-Kericho highway was a scene straight out of a horror movie.

Several eyewitnesses said that in the blink of an eye, several lives were lost, five government vehicles were mangled and the mood suddenly turned from sombre to somber.

Most residents said that in less than a minute from the time the lorry's brakes failed, they had watched helplessly as the lives of people they knew and had worked with for a long time, as well as strangers, were snuffed out. 

"It was a terrifying scene to see the truck travelling at high speed and the driver had clearly lost control after the brakes failed as he descended the highway," said Mr Pavine Rono, a trader in the area.

Mr Rono said the lorry was seen swerving on the motorway at around 6.30pm, with the driver struggling to steer it back into the right-hand lane, before hitting a bump erected a few metres from the main stage at the junction.

It then hit a lorry parked on the side of the road, pushing it into another lorry, and within seconds rammed into four matatus and a private saloon car. 

The truck then rammed into a concrete electricity pole on the side of the road, ripping out the live wires and sending people in the area into shock for a few seconds before sending out a distress call.

The electric pole landed on the boda boda riders, knocking them down as the truck and the matatu vehicles involved in the accident ran over them, dismembering the bodies and killing most of them on the spot.

The impact caused the truck to land in a ditch as the cab separated from the container it was carrying - which landed in a ditch next to a petrol station - while the engine was ejected from the Mercedes truck, which landed a few metres from the road. 

Throughout Saturday, hundreds of local residents and commuters crowded around the scene of the accident, which was littered with personal belongings, including torn clothes, shoes, handbags, jackets and sweaters that had been soaked in rain.Oil and debris from the accident littered the scene, along with crushed tomatoes, cabbages, avocados, carrots and roasted maize.

Passenger seats ripped from the matatu vehicles involved in the accident were also dumped at the scene, around where the container the ill-fated truck was carrying lay in a ditch under police guard.

"Most of the victims were hawkers, petty traders returning from an open-air market day at Chepseon trading centre, pedestrians, commuters waiting to board public service vehicles to Nakuru, boda boda riders looking for passengers and women selling roasted maize, fruits and cabbages by the roadside," Mr Rono said.

Ms Beatrice Njeri, a petty trader, said residents were still coming to terms with the fact that they had lost relatives, friends and business associates in the accident, which would stay with them for a long time.

"We thought a gas cylinder had exploded until we realised so many people were dead or seriously injured. Chaos broke out at the scene and lasted for over 30 minutes before the police took charge," said Ms Njeri. 

Initially, it was only the police, an ambulance from Londiani Sub-County Hospital and emergency workers who took the injured to hospital. But more ambulances were quickly mobilised from all sub-county hospitals and health centres in Kericho County, as well as from neighbouring Nakuru and Bomet counties.

"She was making a living for her family, the children were waiting for her at home for dinner, but death robbed us of our beloved sister-in-law," said Mr Joel Tonui, a resident of Kipsirichet town who lost his sister-in-law Hellen Tonui, a vegetable vendor.

"It was a scene straight out of hell," said Mr Peter Otieno, a matatu driver who survived the horrific crash involving seven vehicles when he swerved his vehicle to avoid a head-on collision with the truck.

"I was travelling from Kendu Bay to Nairobi when I saw the truck coming down and the driver struggling to control it. I swerved to the left as I was going uphill and the driver of the car behind me tried to overtake but was hit by the truck," said Mr Otieno.

"I am lucky to be alive as I narrowly escaped death. I thank God," said Mr Otieno.

Ms Mercy Koskei, a resident of Londiani and a trader in the area, went back to ply her trade despite the tragedy.

"We know that we have literally danced with death, surviving precariously, but we had no other means of making a living. The rising cost of living has forced us to hawk our wares by the roadside," Ms Koskei explained through tears.

Oketch Obudho, a motorist, also counts himself lucky to have narrowly escaped death.

"I was on my way to Nairobi when a truck crashed into other vehicles. I thank God for giving me a second chance. I watched helplessly as the truck crashed into other vehicles, trapping victims in the wreckage," said Mr Obudho.

Weeping uncontrollably, a man identified only as Ken narrated how he lost his wife in the accident.

"She was not only my wife but also my best friend. She left me with small children and I don't know how I will take care of them alone. My heart is broken," he said, sobbing.