2 Confirmed Dead, Scores Others Seriously Hurt As Bus, Lorry Collide Along Thika-Garissa Rd.
The wreckage of the ill-fated bus that caused the death of two people on the spot near Ngoliba, Thika East Sub-County. |
The accident occurred
at around 6am when the driver of the bus attempted to overtake another bus on
the two-way stretch before it collided head-on with the lorry that was proceeding
towards Ukambani from Nairobi.
Such was the impact
of the accident that the truck crashed upto the second row of the passenger
seats of the bus killing the two people on the spot. The driver of the truck sustained
serious body injuries and was among those rushed to Thika Level 5 Hospital.
According to Moses Liuka,
one of the victims, their bus was being driven at a very high speed as it was
in competition with another bus from the same region. As their driver was in
the process of overtaking the first bus, they came face to face with an oncoming
truck whose driver refused to give way even after realising the danger posed by
the overtaking bus.
“The main cause of this accident was over
speeding by our driver. Some of the passengers had raised their concerns about
his dangerous driving but he could hear nothing of the sort. When we came face
to face with this lorry, our driver swerved towards the roadside but due to the
speed it was being driven, it lost control and rammed the lorry head on,” said Moses.
He claimed that the
buses plying that route had a history of careless driving with majority of them
being operated without speed governors.
Geoffrey Mutua, the
bus conductor, the bus was heading to Nairobi from Tseikuru with about 37 passengers.
Immediately after
the accident, the victims were rushed to the nearby Ngoliba Dispensary who
later transferred them to Thika Level 5 Hospital.
At the time of our
arrival at the hospital, the situation was very dire. The doctors ran up and
down receiving the patients, with the most serious ones put on specialised
treatment. The victims jammed the casualty area as well as the general theatre,
majority of writhing in pain. The situation at the casualty ward was bloody but
stable.
“We are currently stabilising
the patients and doing the x-rays. We are identifying those who are very
critical and those who need surgeries we are going to make arrangements that
they get there soonest possible. There is only one very critical condition
otherwise all of them are stable as at now. None of the ones we have received
has passed away,” said Dr. William Oduor Omondi, the Medical Officer in charge
of the case.
Dr. Omondi assured
the public that the hospital was well equipped to handle such cases and
everything was well in control.
Meanwhile, the driver
of the ill-fated bus is said to have ran away immediately after the accident.
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