Lari residents angered by the frequent deaths of pedestrians using the Nakuru-Nairobi highway at the Kimende area have asked for speedy safety measures to be implemented.
The residents collected soil from their farms and elected soil bumps along the busy Nakuru-Nairobi highway, an action that resulted to heavy traffic jam on Sunday evening. This was after a young man awaiting the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results was hit and died on the spot.
The recent victim of the road accidents was Simon Kariuki who was hit by three consecutive vehicles while crossing the road. The deceased was suspected to have underestimated the distance of the oncoming vehicles, which hit and killed him instantly.
Kariuki was waiting for his KCSE results after he completed his form four at Bathi Secondary School in Lari last year.
Maurice Wambugu described the deceased as a hardworking and visionary man who had great ambitions in life.
“We will miss Kariuki after he suffered this untimely death at the prime age of his life,” said Wambugu.
Police said the body of Kariuki was taken to the Naivasha mortuary for preservation. Area police boss Alfred Makoma confirmed the incident and asked pedestrians as well as motorists to be extra careful while on the road.
The day before this accident, an identified woman was also hit at the same spot and died instantly.
Mary Wambui, a resident asked the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) to elect bumps at that particular point of the highway and also install road signs.
“Motorists drive fast around Kimende area where there is no road signs or road barriers to stop vehicles from falling over where there are bus stops and pedestrian walkways. We ask KeNHA to install necessary safety measures to avoid any more deaths,” said Wambui.
Unfortunately, since the year began, there have been many reports of fatl road accidents along the Kenyan roads.
One of the measures the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) has taken is placing vehicles damaged in a road accident at strategic points, like round abouts for motorists to see the effects of over speeding and drunk driving among others results.