Two people lost their lives while nine others sustained injuries following a head-on collision involving a milk delivery pickup and a 2NK Sacco matatu near Kwa V area along the Sagana-Makutano road in Kirinyaga County on Monday evening.
The accident involved a Toyota Hilux pickup belonging to a milk processing company based in Nyeri and a Toyota matatu operated by 2NK Sacco. Kirinyaga West Sub-County Police Commander Julius Gaya, who arrived at the scene and confirmed the incident, said the pickup was heading from Sagana towards Makutano when it suffered a tyre burst, causing the driver to lose control.
The pickup reportedly swerved from its lane, crossed the central trench separating the two carriageways and crashed head-on into the oncoming matatu, which was travelling in the opposite direction from Makutano towards Sagana. The collision left the matatu driver and a female passenger dead, while nine other passengers suffered injuries of varying degrees.
Police identified the deceased matatu driver, but the woman had not been identified by the time of reporting. Both bodies were taken to Kerugoya Mortuary, where they await postmortem examinations. The injured passengers sustained wounds to different parts of their bodies, including their faces, legs, hands, heads and chests. Others reported general body pain following the impact.
Emergency response teams, together with well-wishers who arrived at the scene, helped evacuate the injured to nearby health facilities. The victims were taken to Sagana Sub-County Hospital and Kerugoya County Referral Hospital for medical attention.
Residents of Kwa V and Sagana who witnessed the aftermath described the collision as frightening, expressing shock at the force of the impact. Some residents said they could hardly believe that the pickup had crossed the central trench and entered the opposite carriageway before crashing into the matatu.
The accident has once again raised concerns over road safety along the busy Sagana-Makutano route, where motorists and passengers depend on the road for daily transport.