17 killed in multi-vehicle crash on Kenyan highway

NAIROBI, Oct 3 (Xinhua) – At least 17 people were killed early Saturday in a multi-vehicle pileup along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, Kenyan police said.

The crash occurred at around 00:10 a.m. (2110 GMT Friday) at Mlima Kiu in the Salama area when the driver of a truck heading for the coastal city of Mombasa attempted to overtake a line of vehicles but clipped the rear right side of another truck traveling in the same direction, according to the police.

The impact caused the first truck’s driver to lose control. The vehicle then sideswiped two oncoming vehicles heading toward the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The truck swerved into the climbing lane and collided head-on with a minibus carrying 12 passengers, killing the minibus driver and all 12 passengers at the scene.

The out-of-control truck eventually came to a stop after colliding with another oncoming truck.

The death toll rose to 17, including the driver of the first truck, police said, adding that further investigations were underway.

Road accidents are frequent along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, one of Kenya’s major transport corridors, due to reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, driving under the influence of alcohol and failure by motorcyclists to wear helmets.

According to the National Transport and Safety Authority, about 4,000 people die on Kenyan roads each year despite ongoing road-safety campaigns by government agencies and private-sector stakeholders.