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Five perish in Sagana road crash involving three vehicles
A man stares at the wreckage of three vehicles which were involved in a road crash at Kibirigwi market in Kirinyaga County on November 22, 2024.
What you need to know:
- The trailer was heading towards Sagana from Karatina with the driver suspected to have lost control of the vehicle.
- The trailer swerved as it approached a bump, hitting the first car which was travelling the same direction.
Five people died and one seriously injured on Friday morning in a grisly road crash on the Sagana-Karatina road in Kirinyaga County.
The crash happened when a trailer transporting maize hit two private cars at Kibirigwi market in Ndia Constituency.
The trailer was heading towards Sagana from Karatina with the driver suspected to have lost control of the vehicle.
The trailer swerved as it approached a bump, hitting the first car - a Mazda Supremacy - which was travelling the same direction from the rear right side and dragged it, resulting to the death of all the four occupants.
As the trailer moved downhill, it then ploughed into a Toyota Corolla car which was coming from the opposite direction and dragged it for several metres before landing into a ditch. The driver of the Toyota Corolla died on the spot.
The trailer driver, identified as Daniel Muriungi, was rushed to the nearby Kibirigwi Heath Centre for treatment.
He was later transferred to Karatina Hospital for specialised treatment after his condition worsened.
The crash caused a major traffic snarl-up on the busy road.
Kirinyaga West Sub-county police boss Mr Moses Koskei said investigation has commenced.
The police boss said the trailer driver hooted constantly following the break failure to alert other motorists of the imminent danger.
A trailer which was involved in a road crash at Kibirigwi market in Kirinyaga County on November 22, 2024.
"The trailer driver was hooting on realising that he could no longer control his vehicle but he was not taken seriously by other motorists," he said.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to Kerugoya Referral Hospital mortuary, for postmortem examination and identification while the badly damaged vehicles were towed to Sagana Police Station.
Witnesses said they saw the trailer hurtling downhill, swerving then hitting the two cars.
"It was a terrible accident because five lives have been lost," said Mr Githiru Wanjohi, an area resident.
Residents said they heard a bang and rushed to the area only to find the lorry lying on one of cars whose river had been crushed to death.
"When I arrived at the scene I saw five bodies trapped in the cars, it was so sad," said Mr Munene Kariuki.
The police, with the help of residents, hacked away metal to free bodies of the victims trapped in the mangled cars.
At the scene, bags of maize were strewn all over the area with the police forced to keep off looters.
Mr Koskei called on motorists to be careful to avoid similar fatal incidents.
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