At least seven people have been confirmed dead following multiple vehicle crashes at Matauro, Duka Moja area along the Narok-Suswa-Mai Mahiu highway in Narok County.
Witnesses reported that one of the multi-car accidents occurred at around mid-morning on Monday, December 23, with preliminary reports indicating that a lorry driver allegedly lost control, ramming multiple vehicles.
The collision caused significant congestion in both directions, with motorists stranded for hours.
Kenya Red Cross in a statement confirmed the incident, stating that the crash involved six vehicles.
“A road traffic incident involving six vehicles has occurred at Maltauro, along the Narok-Mai Mahiu Road. Several injured people have been rushed to Narok County Referral Hospital,” the statement reads.
Photos seen by The Kenya Times showed one of the vehicles, a Toyota Landcruiser, completely damaged signalling the impact of the crash.
Multi-vehicle crash along Narok-Suswa highway
Emergency response teams and Police were also seen on-site, working to clear the wreckage and assist those involved in the crash.
Also Read: NTSA Acts After Uproar Over Recklessly Driven Matatus on Busy Highway
A police statement obtained by The Kenya Times indicated that the crashes which involved six vehicles, and a motorcycle happened after a trailer that was being driven from Narok towards Maai Mahiu direction suffered a tyre burst.
The driver lost control and in turn the trailer knocked down a Toyota Premio car, an Ena coach bus and a Narok line matatu to different sides of the road leaving three occupants of the matatu dead on the spot.
“Soon after, a second trailer driven from Narok towards Mai Mahiu arrived at the scene at high speed, hooting and collided head on with a Toyota Prado which was traveling in the opposite direction. Two occupants of the Prado died on the spot and a third died later at Narok county hospital,” the statement adds.
Police revealed that the second trailer knocked down a motorcycle and killed two pillion passengers on the spot raising total number of deceased to seven.
The bodies of the dead have been taken to Narok County referral hospital mortuary while the unidentified number of injured have been taken to the same hospital for treatment.
Alternative route
The Narok-Suswa-Mai Mahiu highway was among alternative routes provided by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) while issuing a travel advisory for motorists using the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway following heavy traffic witnessed on December 20.
In addition, the accident along the busy route comes as more Kenyans continued to travel upcountry for the Christmas festivities.
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Hours earlier, several people were left injured after a bus they were travelling in overturned at Magina on Sunday along the Nairobi-Naivasha highway.
The passenger bus lost control and overturned just before Kijabe along the busy highway with those injured rushed to Kijabe Mission Hospital as police cleared the scene.
By the time of publishing, Police had confirmed that the scene had been cleared, and traffic was flowing smoothly.
Crackdown
Following an increased number of road accidents across the country especially during the festive season, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and traffic officers have been actively cracking down on vehicles and motorists violating traffic laws and regulations on various roads in the country.
Also Read: Tragic Accident on Narok-Bomet Road Kills 6 People, Injures 23
NTSA has been constantly sharing updates of road safety education and compliance checks along various highways in different counties.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi had earlier directed a nationwide crackdown on unlicensed and unroadworthy Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) in response to a concerning 11 per cent rise in serious road injuries since 2023.
Mudavadi on Thursday last week announced that there will be increased police presence and patrols both day and night along major highways.
These enhanced patrols, the Prime Cabinet Secretary said, are designed to ensure compliance with traffic laws, prevent reckless driving, and stop unlicensed and overloaded public service vehicles (PSVs) from operating.
“I urge Kenyans in this festive season, especially public service vehicle drivers, to be careful and drive safely to ensure the safety of our people,” Mudavadi said while addressing the media at Harambee House.
NTSA Data
The directive comes as the number of road crash casualties has risen this year, with 21,620 cases recorded by November 2024 according to the latest data from NTSA.
This is an increase compared to 20,191 cases during the same period in 2023, signaling growing concerns about road safety in the country.
Fatalities have climbed to 4,282 in 2024, up from 3,901 in 2023 while serious injuries also rose to 10,662 compared to 9,501 last year.
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