A conductor died on the spot on Monday and another suffered serious injuries in an accident involving two buses and a truck in Athi River, Machakos county.
Each of the Rembo Shuttle Sacco conductors was persuading passengers to board his bus when one of the vehicles was hit by a lorry and pushed into the other, crashing the conductors at 4.30pm.
The accident happened at Vanillas stage opposite the East African Portland Cement Company on the Nairobi-Namanga highway.
The injured conductor is recovering at Machakos Level 5 Hospital, according to Athi River subcounty police commander Catherine Ringera.
“The casualties were all rushed to Machakos Level 5 Hospital where they have since been admitted. The nearby Shalom Hospital had been sealed off due to Covid-19 scare,” Ringera said on Tuesday.
Both buses were towed to Athi River police station. The lorry was allowed to proceed with the journey.
The Rembo Shuttle buses ply the Kitengela-Nairobi (Railways) route.
Witnesses told the Star the lorry hit one of the buses from behind, pushing it to the other. The conductors were sandwiched between the buses which had stopped to pick passengers.
At least three other people were also injured.
“A bus was picking passengers when it was hit by a lorry from behind. It then hit the second bus, leading to the death of one person. I ferried one of the conductors to hospital in critical condition,” boda boda operator Sebastian Waithaka said.
The accident caused a traffic snarl-up along the Athi River-Namanga road but traffic officers from Athi River police station controlled the vehicles plying the route.
Edited by Henry Makori
