The notorious Ngata blackspot is yet again in the news headlines, this time, claiming the lives of two individuals.

The late Sunday incident occurred at around 8 pm involving a road crash between Rongai Line Sacco matatu and Eldoret Crossroads matatu.

Lewis Mbasu, one of the survivors on board the Rongai matatu, narrates how the vehicle they were in was speeding and the driver was driving recklessly.

Lewis Mbasu, a survivor who was on board the Rongai Line Sacco matatu recuperates at the Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital on September 9, 2024.

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

“It was during the rush hour and so I think the driver was in quite a hurry to make his way back to town. We were coming from Sobea. One of the passengers was to alight at a section close to Verovian and so the driver had to pull over,” he recalls.

The 19-year-old says that the accident occurred when the driver tried to make his way back to the highway. He says the driver moved to the middle lane, before hitting the Crossroads matatu.

“After the impact, I was in a lot of pain. Some of the locals managed to respond after the incident, and put us in the cars that were passing by. That is how I found myself in the hospital. I sustained fractures on both my legs,” he says.

Among the survivors on the Eldoret Crossroads matatu was an athlete, Lewis Kipkemboi who was coming from Nairobi after participating in the Sunday Nairobi City Marathon.

Lewis Kipkemboi being treated at the Nakuru County Teaching and Refferal Hospital on September 9, 2024

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

“We started our journey at around 3pm and we made stops at Naivasha town and also at Nakuru town. We never experienced any hiccups along the way and our journey was uneventful,” he says.

The 22-year- old athlete says that he too was taken to hospital by good Samaritans who were using the road.

Drivers of the two vehicles survived the crash and are receiving treatment at Nakuru PGH hospital, among 20 other survivors.

On August 20, another accident occurred at Migaa, claiming the lives of 13 people and leaving 21 people injured.

This makes it the second accident in a span of three weeks along the same stretch on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

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Leleti Jassor