Five die in traffic accidents in Nakuru County
Road signs warn drivers of a black spot at the Kibunja-Salgaa stretch on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
Five people died on Wednesday evening in two separate accidents on the busy Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
The first accident occurred at Kianugu area near Kikopey where four people lost their lives.
The accident involved five vehicles. Fifteen people were injured in the crash and were taken to several hospitals within Nakuru County, including St Mary's Hospital in Gilgil.
Gilgil police commander Francis Tumbo said the truck driver was attempting to overtake at a dangerous spot when the accident occurred.
"The driver used the inner lane mostly used by vehicles as a climbing lane, leading to the Wednesday evening accident," he said.
Following the accident, there was a heavy traffic jam as police tried to clear the road.
The second accident occurred at the Ngata blackspot and one person died. A bus veered off the road killing one person on the spot.
The busy Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway, which is an essential road to Western Kenya and the artery that connects Kenya and the landlocked countries of Uganda, Southern Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi, is among the most dangerous roads in the region.
The road is used for transporting most of the West-bound cargo from the Port of Mombasa and Nairobi.
Accident black spots dotting the Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway include; Karai, where 40 people perished in 2017, Kinungi, Mbaruk, Gilgil and St Mary’s area all along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.
Others are Gilgil-Nakuru-Kasambara-Kikopey stretch, Ihindu, Raini Mithuri, Kikopey,Mbaruk, Soysambu, Weighbridge and the Timboroa and Makutano junction-Burnt Forest section.
