Four people have perished at Mumbi in Nyandarua County in a road crash involving a car and lorry.
The lorry was heading towards Ol Kalou town from Gilgil while the car was being driven to the opposite direction when they collided.
A fifth victim is fighting for his life at the JM Memorial Level Four Hospital.
Doctors said he had been stabilised before being taken to another hospital for specialised treatment.
DIED ON SPOT
Three of the passengers, who included a young girl, died on the spot while a fourth victim was pronounced dead on arrival at the JM Memorial Hospital.
The hospital’s administrator, Ms Mary Njuguna, said the fifth victim was in critical condition and was awaiting referral to Nakuru General Hospital.
And following the fatal crash, residents blocked the busy highway paralysing movement as they demanded immediate repairs of the road that has potholes.
They also want the area declared a blackspot, saying several crashes have happened in the recent past.
DOCUMENTS STOLEN
At the hospital, the identity of the victims could not be established since their documents were all stolen at the scene by would-be good Samaritans.
“We are unable to get their names or where they come from. They do not have any identification documents with them. One of the dead victims is a young girl who died on the spot. The fifth victim is in critical condition but our doctors are working hard to stabilise him before referral,” said Ms Njuguna.
According to a witness, Ms Magaret Njeri, the driver of the car lost control while avoiding to hit a pothole a short distance from Captain market.
“The driver of the car was avoiding a pothole when he hit the truck. But I was discouraged to witness the rescuers steal from the victims. They stole the victims’ wallets, mobile phones and other personal documents,” said Ms Njeri.
CONDOLENCES
While sending his condolences to families of the victims, Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia decried the worsening state of the road between Nyahururu and Gilgil town and appealed to the Ministry of Roads to have it repaired.
“I am saddened by the four deaths. We have lost four young lives in the fatal road accident. We have lost them at a very critical moment and we believe they travelled home for the census. Our hearts go to their relatives at this hard moments. We urge the drivers to be careful when driving along this road,” said Governor Kimemia who also dispatched some of his county officials to the rescue mission.
SAVE LIFE
Governor Kimemia directed the JM Memorial Hospital to prioritise on saving the life of the victim who was admitted.
Confirming the incident, Nyandarua County Police Commander Gideon Ngumi decried the many potholes that have emerged on the highway, blaming them for the fatal crash.
“We have launched our investigations but initial findings are that the accident was caused by the pothole. We have several potholes that require urgent attention from the relevant government agencies in order to save lives,” said Mr Ngumi.