- Witnesses at the scene said that the tipper was descending from Komire towards Kuja Bridge while the matatu and the car were coming from the Rongo direction when the accident happened.
- Police said they are still trying to trace two of the victims of the accident as they could not be found at the scene after the accident.
Image: HANDOUT
Police in Migori county are investigating a Monday night accident which left one person dead, three severely injured and two victims missing.
The accident occurred at Kuja Bridge along Rongo-Migori Road involving three vehicles. The driver of the tipper is reported to have lost control, swerving and hitting a matatu and a car.
One passenger in the matatu died on the spot and others suffered serious injuries.
A progress report from the police highlighted that two of the victims were in a coma and another one is currently nursing injuries to the chest and the right knee.
Police said they are still trying to trace two of the victims of the accident as they could not be found at the scene after the accident.
"Efforts to trace the victims in different hospitals within Migori County are being made. The deceased's body has been moved to Rosewood Mortuary and the three vehicles have been towed to Kamagambo Police Station pending inspection," a police report read.
Witnesses at the scene said that the tipper was descending from Komire towards Kuja Bridge while the matatu and the car were coming from the Rongo direction when the accident happened.
Elsewhere in Bomet county, at least five people were Monday died in a road accident along Olonguruone-Silibwet Road.
The accident involving a matatu and a tractor left 18 injured.
"It happened that the driver was driving his motor vehicle from Olenguruone heading towards Bomet general direction and on reaching the location of the accident, the driver of the matatu failed to keep to his proper lane and rammed on the tractor," police report seen by the Star read.
Since January to February 2024, road accidents across the country have claimed 649 lives, the National Transport and Safety Authority said.
The statistics are an increase compared to the 623 recorded during the same period in 2023.
Pedestrians lead in fatalities at 252, compared with 190 recorded last year.
Motorcyclists recorded 152 deaths marking a slight decrease compared to 177 in 2023.
In 2024, at least 125 passengers have lost their lives in road crashes compared to 114 in 2023.
Some 43 drivers have lost their lives in road accidents. This is a decrease compared to 59 in the same period last year.
Pillion passengers recorded 61 deaths compared to 71 witnessed last year.
This year, only 10 pedal cyclists have died from an accident within the period under review compared to 12 recorded in 2023.
A 2023 report by NTSA showed that losing control was one of the main causes of road crashes, accounting for 929 deaths.
Cause not traced accounted for 575 road deaths followed by lane indiscipline at 491.
Overtaking improperly led to 443 accidents while misjudging clearance, distance, or speed resulted in 310 deaths.
Inappropriate speed accounted for 274 road crashes, and other apparent errors of judgment or negligence accounted for 219 deaths.
Also, stepping, walking, or running off the footpath or verge onto the road resulted in 121 deaths while crossing roads not masked by stationary vehicles accounted for 73 deaths.
Turning without due care accounted for 84 deaths, swerving had 58, walking or standing on the road had 60 and brake failure resulted in 45 deaths
In the same report, Saturdays were the most dangerous day of the week to travel in Kenya in 2023. 780 lives were lost through road crashes which was a decrease compared to 819 in 2022.
Sunday followed by 778 deaths compared to 896 in 2022.