By John Majau
A school girl was among three people who died on the spot this morning after a lorry ferrying sand rammed into Kamiguru Education Centre’s school bus at Ntharene Market on the Meru-Nairobi highway.
The two drivers of the vehicles also died instantly from the crash while ten pupils and a teacher were injured and rushed to hospital for treatment.
According to witnesses, the Kanyakine-bound bus was transporting pupils to school when the lorry, travelling at high speed and heading to Nkubu lost control and veered onto its lane causing the accident.
“The impact pushed the bus several metres off the road, killing the school girl and the two drivers on the spot,” narrated Mr John Kamencu, who was among the first responders.
“The accident shocked me because my child goes to the same school. The bus driver was transfixed as he encountered the lorry coming at him at high speed and had momentarily stopped to give way, but the lorry hit the bus head-on,” he added.
Mr Kamencu said the section of the road where the accident occurred had become a black spot because of it’s narrowness and missing guard rails.
Kanyakine Senior Chief Isabella Mutura said the ten pupils and the teacher who survived the crash were rushed to Consolata Mission Hospital where they are recuperating.
Agnes Mbae, a resident, said several accidents have occurred in the area and called on Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) to consider expanding the road.
Bodies of the pupil and the drivers were moved to Nkubu Mission Hospital’s morgue awaiting postmortem analysis.
Police have already launched investigations into the accident.
