Six die in Kinungi road crash
Members of the public at the scene where a lorry collided with a matatu at Kinungi area on the Naivasha-Nairobi road. PHOTO|MACHARIA MWANGI
Six people including two children died when a matatu they were travelling in collided with a lorry at Kinungi area on the Naivasha-Nairobi highway.
Several other passengers in the ill-fated vehicle sustained injuries and were rushed to Kijabe Mission hospital for treatment .
The six died on the spot during the 6.30 am incident in which three others escaped unhurt.
A police officer at the scene said it was foggy and the matatu driver appeared to have misjudged his lane, drifting towards the right lane straight into the oncoming mini-lorry.
"The matatu driver appeared to have moved towards the right over the yellow line marking when the two vehicles collided," said a police officer at the accident scene.
DRIVER ESCAPED
The matatu was dragged for several metres following the impact before the two vehicles ground to a painful end. The lorry driver escaped immediately after the morning accident but police expressed confidence that he would be found and charged in court.
A survivor, Pastor Joseph Njau with Priesthood Church blamed the fog saying visibility was poor with the situation made worse by the speed the matatu was being driven.
"I started dozing off before I was rudely awoken by a loud bang after the crash," he added.
Naivasha head of the police Charles Kortok confirmed the deaths saying three men and a woman as well as two children had been identified.
The matatu driver was taken to the hospital while still unconscious and he was due to undergone an X-ray examination to establish the extend of the fractures and injuries.
Mr Kortok blamed the accident to bad weather, saying it was foggy and drizzling at the time of the accident.
The six bodies were taken to the Naivasha sub district hospital mortuary, while the mangled wreckage of the matatu and the mini-lorry were towed to the Naivasha police station.
Meanwhile, a family of six sustained minor injuries after the saloon vehicle they were travelling in rolled barely 200 metres from the scene of the earlier accident.
The driver of the car Eric Angushoma said he was trying to avoid an oncoming mini-lorry when the accident occurred.
"I lost control and the vehicle rolled several times. But I thank God we miraculously escaped with minor injuries," he said.
The five were treated at the Naivasha District Hospital discharged. Mr Angushoma said they were headed for Western province.
