This archive report was first published on 5 October 2019.
Caroline Kalekye's life was forever changed on October 4, 2019, when her two-year-old son, Christopher Odhiambo, died in a devastating head-on collision between an Eldoret Express bus and a truck in Awasi, Kisumu County.
According to the Standard, published on October 5, 2019, Kalekye had been skeptical about the trip, but had decided to proceed despite her six-year-old son's teacher advising her against it. The teacher had expressed concerns that the trip would disrupt her son's learning at Akom Primary School.
As the bus approached Awasi, Kalekye fell asleep, only to be awakened by a loud bang and screams. She struggled to free her baby, who was trapped under a huge metal rod, but was unable to save him.
"My child died in my arms. I struggled to save him but without luck," Kalekye said, recounting the traumatic events of that fateful night.
She was also trapped, pinned by the rod, before passing out. When she came to, she saw broken glasses and her dead baby trapped by the metal.
"The last thing I saw was a piece of metal pressing my baby before I blacked out. When I came to my senses moments later, I saw broken glasses and my dead baby trapped by the metal," she said.
Despite her own injuries, Kalekye was grateful that her other son, Januarius Ochieng, escaped with injuries to his head and was in stable condition at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH).
She blamed herself for not listening to her son's teacher and believed that quick intervention could have saved her son. "We stayed for more than an hour waiting for help and during that time, many of us were bleeding profusely," she said.
