Minor dies, ten injured as truck rams into matatu in Ngata
A trailer ferrying maize collided with a 14-seater matatu at Ngata, along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway on Sunday, July 9. The driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle and hit the matatu before both vehicles burst into flames.
A 7-year-old boy died and ten passengers were injured after a trailer collided with a 14-seater matatu at Ngata Bridge along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
According to police, the driver of the Nairobi-bound trailer carrying maize from South Sudan lost control of the vehicle and hit the matatu before both vehicles burst into flames in the Sunday, July 9 night accident.
"The trailer, which was heading towards Nakuru, developed mechanical problems before ramming into the fourteen-seater matatu that was ferrying passengers from Nakuru town to Ngata," revealed Nakuru West police commander Francis Wahome.
"At least eleven people sustained injuries and were rushed to Nakuru Level Five Hospital, but one minor, aged seven, succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment at the hospital," the police boss added.
Witnesses said the trailer was speeding before the accident.
"The trailer was speeding and that made it difficult for the driver to contain it when it developed mechanical problems and swerved across the road hitting the matatu before landing in a ditch," explained John Momanyi, who witnessed the accident.
After the accident, police struggled to contain residents, mainly youths, who arrived at the scene to loot the maize that was in the trailer.
Residents were filmed using gunny bags to loot the maize as most of them loaded the produce into their cars and sped away.
Other passers-by used boda bodas to transport the loot as police fired tear gas to control the situation.
The accident caused a huge traffic jam on the busy highway.
