Police officer dies after ramming a barrier along Waiyaki Way

A police officer based at Kabete Police station lost his life on after he lost control of his car and hit a barrier along Waiyaki Way, Nairobi.

Police said constable Emanuel Mutwiri was among ten people killed in separate accidents in the country on Monday.

According to an incident report, police said he was driving towards Uthiru at night when and while entering the service lane that leads to the station he crashed into the barrier.

The car then overturned trapping him therein.

He was evacuated and rushed to Kikuyu Mission hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

“Mutwiri was driving his vehicle KBQ 91U Nissan X Trail along Waiyaki way while entering service lane into Kabete Police Station he crashed into the barrier that separates the Main road from the service lane,” the police report reads in part.

The body of the deceased was transferred to Chiromo Mortuary awaiting postmortem.

In another accident that also occurred on Monday, an auditor at the National Hospital Insurance Fund died after his car lost control and overturned along Lang'ata Road.

The accident happened when Kimulwon Chesaina’s Mercedes Benz lost control, flew over a trench and rolled and faced the opposite direction.

The car was badly damaged and trapped him therein where he was removed unresponsive.

He was alone at the time of the accident, police and witnesses said.

The other accidents were reported in Manga, Nyamira, Tigoni, Thika Road in Nairobi, Eldama Ravine, Gachoka in Embu, Nakuru Town and Hindi in Lamu.

Police said the accidents are under investigation. Preliminary findings have since blamed speeding for some of the accidents.

Up to 20 victims are nursing wounds following the accidents that happened on Monday alone.

Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna blamed the crashes to reckless driving.

Earlier this month, he said that as of June 27, 2,200 lives had been lost across the country due to road accidents which represented a 10.5 percent increase compared to 2,057 deaths on the same date last year.

Oguna stated that pedestrians continue to be the most vulnerable group of road users, with 816 of them having died as of June 25 which translated into a 20 percent increase compared to the 681 who died in the same period last year.

“Road accidents have rendered numerous families destitute because some of the victims are the sole bread winners. In several other cases, family earnings are depleted to settle huge hospital bills,” Oguna tweeted.

“As of June 27, 2022, more than 2,200 lives had been lost from road crashes. This is an increase of 10.5 per cent, compared to 2,057 deaths on the same date in 2021.”