Two people lost their lives in a freak accident along the Nakuru-Njoro Road in the latest fatal accident in the country.
The accident, which occurred at the Soilo interchange, involved a motorcycle and a personal car.
Reports indicate the motorcycle crashed head-on into a red Nissan Xtrail as the rider attempted to overtake a lorry. The rider and pillion passenger died on the spot.
“The motorbike was traveling behind a lorry, which had taken up space. Seeing no room to overtake because the lorry was making a turn, the motorbike decided to go around and that is when he collided with the Nissan, which was also traveling at high speed,” a witness, another boda boda rider, recounted.
Kenyan Police Vehicle.
Photo
HILARY KIMUYU
According to the witness, the driver of the Nissan also tried to negotiate some space to avoid the turning lorry, leading to the collision.
Images and videos of the accident showed that the personal vehicle’s bonnet was completely damaged, bringing to perspective the speed at which the motorbike was moving.
The deceased’s bodies were moved to the Nakuru County Mortuary pending identification.
Bizarrely, the incident happened exactly a week after five people died after the motorcycle they were travelling on hit the rear of a lorry in the Denyenye area along the Likoni-Kombani road in Kwale County.
Police speculated that the motorist, who was ferrying five pillion passengers, saw the lorry late in the 1 am incident.
Alarming statistics from the National Police Service have shown that a majority of accidents in the country involve motorbikes.
In the first half of 2024 alone, 2407 Kenyans died from road accidents. while a further 10,166 others suffered injuries. 11,502 crashes were recorded in that time, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
With road accidents being among the top five cause of death among Kenyans between the ages of five and 70, the Ministry of Health, the National Transport and Safety Authority, the World Health Organization [WHO] and Bloomberg Philanthropies came together to launch an initiative aimed at reducing deaths and injuries from road accidents.
In April, the government also announced a new National Road Safety Action Plan aimed at halving casualties from road accidents by 2030 was in its final stages.
Bodies along Likoni-Kombani Road after truck rammed into a motorbike on Sunday morning, September 15, 2024.
Photo
Radio Kaya
