17 Killed in Grisly Multi-Vehicle Crash Along Nairobi-Mombasa Highway
The impact caused the Sinotruk driver to lose control, resulting in a sideways collision with an oncoming Peugeot and a Toyota Noah.
Seventeen people are killed and several others injured in a multi-vehicle accident at Mlima Kiu in Salama, Kilome, along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, early Saturday morning, October 3, 2026. Photo: The Star Kenya.
By Robert Mutasi
Seventeen people were killed and several others injured in a grisly multi-vehicle accident at Mlima Kiu in Salama, Kilome, along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, early Saturday morning.
The accident occurred at approximately 12:10 a.m. on October 3, 2026, involving a Howo Sinotruk lorry, a Hino truck, a Peugeot, a Toyota Noah, a Toyota Hiace matatu and a Nissan UD truck.
According to police at Salama Police Station, the accident began when the Sinotruk, which was travelling from Nairobi towards Mombasa, allegedly failed to keep to its lane while overtaking a fleet of vehicles and rammed into the rear right side of a Hino truck.
The impact caused the Sinotruk driver to lose control, resulting in a sideways collision with an oncoming Peugeot and a Toyota Noah.
The truck subsequently veered into the climbing lane, where it collided head-on with a Toyota Hiace public service vehicle (PSV) matatu travelling towards Nairobi.
The runaway lorry was eventually brought to a stop after colliding with a Nissan UD truck heading from Mombasa towards Nairobi.
Police said the matatu driver and 12 passengers died at the scene. The Sinotruk driver, identified as Shijire, and three passengers travelling in the lorry also died on the spot, bringing the death toll to 17.
Sultan Hamud Sub-County Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Stephen Mwangangi confirmed the fatalities, describing the incident as a chain of accidents involving several vehicles.
“It was a chain of accidents. It involved a 14-seater matatu that was headed towards Nairobi and a lorry. A lorry rammed into another lorry, pulled it and caused a chain of accidents. In the process, a head-on collision between the 14-seater matatu and the lorry occurred,” Mwangangi said.
The crash was reported at Salama Police Station as a fatal road traffic accident, triggering an emergency response as police officers and other rescue teams rushed to the scene to assist victims and document the incident.
Mwangangi said seven injured people were taken to Sultan Hamud Sub-County Hospital for treatment. Six of them sustained soft tissue injuries, were treated and subsequently discharged.
One of the lorry drivers sustained severe head and abdominal injuries and was stabilised before being referred to Makueni County Referral Hospital for specialised treatment.
“We stabilised and referred him to Makueni County Referral Hospital. As we speak, we have 14 bodies in our mortuary. It is a sad day for us,” Mwangangi said.
He added that three other bodies had been transferred to another mortuary within the area.
The accident caused a major traffic snarl-up along the busy Nairobi-Mombasa Highway as emergency responders worked to rescue survivors, clear the wreckage and facilitate the movement of vehicles.
Police officers documented the scene before the wrecked vehicles were towed to Salama Police Station yard, where they will be detained for inspection as investigations into the cause of the accident continue.
Eastern Regional Police Commander Stephen Chebet confirmed that investigations were underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Chebet urged motorists to exercise caution while using the roads, particularly when overtaking and navigating busy highways.
“We urge motorists to be cautious on the roads. These are too many people to lose,” he said.
The crash adds to concerns over road safety, with authorities continuing investigations to establish the exact sequence of events that led to the deadly collision.
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