This archive report was first published on 7 August 2019.
On Wednesday morning, a passenger bus heading to Lamu from Mombasa collided with a lorry carrying construction material along the Lamu-Mombasa road, resulting in the tragic loss of a four-year-old child's life and leaving eight others injured.
The accident occurred in Hindi, with the bus, Mombasa Raha, running into a truck belonging to H-young contractors, who are building the Lamu-Garsen road.
Lamu Deputy County Commissioner Louis Rono confirmed the incident, stating that four of the injured were in critical condition and had been rushed to the King Fahad County Hospital for treatment.
Commissioner Rono also noted that the bus was being driven at a very high speed at the time of the accident.
Present at the scene was Lamu County Police Commander Muchangi Kioi, who also confirmed the incident and urged drivers to be extra careful and avoid speeding and adhere to traffic rules and regulations.
Commander Kioi stated, 'I am informed that a child has died, while others were injured in a road accident in Hindi. Another accident also occurred at Nyongoro in Witu this morning but no causalities or injuries reported,'
He further emphasized, 'Some sections of the road are in a poor state and that's why the government is already undertaking the construction of that road. In addition, it has been raining from time to time in Lamu and our roads are extremely slippery.'
Commander Kioi concluded, 'I, therefore, ask road users, particularly motorists, to avoid speeding and careless driving. You would rather be slow and sure than rush and end up dying. We don't want to lose people on our roads.'
A similar incident was also reported in Nyongoro, Witu Division earlier Wednesday morning, where a shuttle full of passengers heading to Mombasa from Lamu veered off the road as its driver attempted to overtake a miraa van. Fortunately, the occupants of the two vehicles escaped unhurt.
