Tragedy in Mwea: Miraa Driver Killed, Two Injured in Crash Hours After Murubara Victims Burial
The accident occurred on Friday near Mutithi Trading Centre in Mwea-West, along the busy highway that has become a blackspot in recent weeks.
Photo: Hubz Media.
By Anneth Chepng’etich
Grief has struck again in Kirinyaga County after a 28-year-old miraa driver died and two other people sustained serious injuries in a tragic road accident along the Mwea-Embu Highway, just hours after the burial of 10 victims of the Murubara accident.
The accident occurred on Friday near Mutithi Trading Centre in Mwea-West, along the busy highway that has become a blackspot in recent weeks.
According to Mwea-West Sub-County Police Commander Millicent Ngugi, the accident involved a Toyota Probox ferrying miraa from Meru towards Nairobi and a lorry carrying sand that was headed towards Ngurubani.
Police said the two vehicles collided head-on, causing the Probox to veer off the road and roll into a nearby rice farm. The lorry burst into flames moments after the impact, though its driver and turn-boy escaped with minor injuries.
The three occupants of the Probox were rushed to White Rose Private Hospital for emergency treatment. However, the driver, aged 28, succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment. The other two occupants, aged 33 and 29, sustained serious head and leg injuries and are still admitted in critical condition.
“The Probox was coming from Meru towards Nairobi while the lorry was heading to Ngurubani. Upon reaching Mutithi area, they collided head-on. The driver of the Probox died while undergoing treatment,” said Commander Ngugi.
Witnesses at the scene claimed the Probox was travelling at high speed at the time of the crash. Some alleged that a motorcycle that was improperly overlapping on the highway may have contributed to the accident, forcing the driver to swerve.
The body of the deceased driver was moved to Kerugoya Hospital Mortuary pending postmortem, while the wreckage of the Probox and the burnt lorry were towed to Wang’uru Police Station for further investigations.
The crash happened on the same day residents of Murubara in Mwea had buried 10 people who perished in a horrific road accident last week along the same highway, deepening the mourning in the region. Leaders who attended the burial had called for urgent road safety interventions along the Mwea-Embu Highway.
The latest accident has now renewed concerns over road safety in the area, with residents and motorists calling on the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the County Government of Kirinyaga to urgently repair the road, fix potholes, erect more speed bumps and speed signs, and fast-track the expansion of the narrow highway.
Residents say speeding miraa vehicles, overlapping and poor road conditions have made the stretch from Makutano to Embu a death trap, and want strict enforcement of traffic rules to avert further loss of lives.
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