Seventeen people died on Sunday night
in a grisly
road accident on the Thika-Garissa highway near Kilimambogo area.
Police at Ngoliba police station said the accident involved a lorry and a matatu at around 8:30pm.
Thika Traffic Base Commander Michael Lemaiyan said 4 other people died while undergoing treatment at the Thika Level 4 hospital while two others were in critical condition at the same facility.
According to the police, the matatu belonging to Kinatwa Sacco was heading to Kitui from Nairobi at the time of the accident.
They said the driver swerved to avoid hitting a motorcyclist and in the process collided head-on with an oncoming lorry.
"As a result, the matatu driver and his ten passengers died on the spot," an officer at the station said.
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Police said
the process of identifying the victims had commenced and that the public would be briefed later.
The accident comes less than 24 hours after 10 people perished in another ugly accident at Makutano junction near Eldama Ravine.
The latest accident brings to over 170 the number of people who have lost their lives through road carnage in the month of December.
The road safety authority put the death toll at 150 as at December 14.
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