The accident occurred at around 10:30 a.m.
According to the lorry driver, Nicolas Murithi, he was travelling from Nairobi to Chuka when he encountered three Probox vehicles heading towards Nairobi at high speed, all carrying miraa. Two of the vehicles managed to pass, but the third collided head-on with his lorry, killing the driver instantly.
Murithi expressed shock at the speed at which the Probox was being driven.
In the impact, the Probox also struck a boda boda rider who was carrying his wife and child. The two adults were rushed to hospital by ambulance, while the child escaped unhurt.
Residents, led by Dan Murango, decried the rising number of accidents along the highway. One of the witnesses, Dan Mwai from Murinduko, questioned the trend, noting that multiple fatal accidents had been reported in the area in recent days.
“Two people, a man and his wife, were killed at Difathas yesterday, and another person was killed at Nyangati. What is going on?” he said.
The incident drew further outrage after another miraa vehicle reportedly arrived at the scene and removed the cargo from the wreckage, leaving the deceased’s body behind.
“These people value miraa more than human life. They have left the body but taken the miraa,” said Joseph Karanja, a resident.
Traffic police officers from Wang’uru Police Station responded to the scene, moved the body to a mortuary pending identification, and towed the vehicles to the station as investigations continue.
