One dead, 10 seriously injured in Kiminini valley road accident
The wreckage of an Eldoret Express bus at the scene of the Wednesday night accident at the Kiminini valley bridge along the Kitale-Webuye road on Wednesday night. A lorry was heading towards Kitale and collided with the Nairobi-bound bus in the 8pm accident, which claimed one life and left ten injured
What you need to know:
- Six passengers who sustained serious head injuries, deep cuts on the forehead and fractured legs and hands were rushed to Kitale district hospital for medical attention
- It took 30 minutes for emergency responders to arrive at the scene as locals tried to rescue trapped passengers through windows
One person died and 10 others were seriously injured in a road crash involving an Eldoret Express bus, a lorry and a tractor at the Kiminini Valley bridge on the Kitale-Webuye road on Wednesday night.
The lorry was heading towards Kitale and collided with the Nairobi-bound bus in the 8pm accident. The lorry driver died on the spot.
A police report said the lorry (KBL 078F) was ferrying sand.
Upon reaching the bridge, the lorry driver improperly overtook a tractor (KTCB 033Q) and collided head-on with the oncoming bus (KCG 760M).
Kiminini OCPD John Onditi confirmed to Nation.Africa that the lorry driver died on the spot and 10 passengers were seriously injured.
"Six passengers who sustained serious head injuries, deep cuts on the forehead and fractured legs and hands were rushed to Kitale district hospital where they are being treated," he said.
Critical condition
Four were in a critical condition and were rushed to Bungoma County Hospital.
"At the moment, there is only one fatality, but with some serious casualties," Mr Onditi said.
Volunteers assisting in rescue efforts at the Kiminini valley bridge where an accident claimed one life and left ten people injured. The accident involved an Eldoret Express bus, a lorry, and a tractor on Wednesday night.
The accident caused a major traffic jam, inconveniencing motorists on the Kitale-Webuye road for hours as police made frantic efforts to redirect them to alternative routes.
Alice Njoki, 26, a survivor mother of two, was still in shock, telling Nation.Africa that she was lucky to be alive.
She narrated that the bus was heading from Nairobi to Kamukuywa via Kitale, where some passengers were dropped off.
"Just before Kiminini, the bus driver applied emergency brakes as the speeding lorry ahead of us came and rammed the bus," she said.
She said she heard the driver screaming, "Mungu wangu" (Oh my God) as the lorry rammed the bus in the front.
The passenger seated next to Ms Njoki was thrown forward and backwards before dropping to the floor unconscious.
"I instinctively grabbed my two kids and ducked under the seats to protect them from major impact from the crash," she explained.
It took 30 minutes for emergency responders to arrive at the scene as locals tried to rescue trapped passengers through windows, and more than an hour to remove the body of the lorry driver from the wreckage.
Rescue samaritans
Volunteers had to use axes and rods to break metal sheets in order to remove the body.
Ms Njoki and her children were taken in by a Good Samaritan for the night.
Police urged road users to be extra-careful and observe speed limits, particularly at night, while locals called on authorities to erect speed bumps in the area.
The driver’s body was taken to the Kitale County Referral Hospital mortuary as the damaged vehicles were towed to the Kitale Police Station.
