One person has died and 13 others injured in a road accident at the Nithi bridge in Maara constituency of Tharaka Nithi County.
The driver of the ill fated 14-seater Nissan Matatu heading to Meru from Nairobi is reported to have drove into a ditch at the notorious black spot, while descending the Nithi slope, to avoid rolling into the waters after the vehicle developed brake problems.
Maara police commander Johnston Kabusia told the press that the vehicle then hit a tree and due to the generated impact, a woman who had not buckled her safety belt was thrown out through the window and died on spot.
Kabusia said the injured were rushed to Chuka County Referral Hospital and the body was also moved to the same facility’s mortury.
He said drivers had the responsibility of ensuring that all passengers adhere to traffic rules and called on passengers to always fit their seat safety belts.
“They should always wear their safety belts and not hurriedly looking for them when a police officer flags off the vehicle,” said Kabusia.
This mishap comes barely a week after two people, a driver and his passenger, travelling in a personal car died on the spot at the same bridge after their car was hit by a speeding lorry ferrying miraa to Nairobi.
By Kenneth Marangu
