17 People Perish in Grisly Road Crash along Thika-Garissa Highway

17 people lost their lives after a grisly road accident at Ngoliba area along the Thika-Garissa highway on Sunday night.

The crash occurred after a 14-seater public service vehicle travelling to Kitui from Nairobi, rammed an oncoming truck as the driver attempted to overtook other cars.

"After sensing danger, the driver of the lorry tried to stop but it was a little too late to avoid a head-on collision. The matatu rammed the lorry," said Thika Traffic Base Commander Michael Lemaiyan.

Mr Lemaiyan said that 13 peoole aboard the matatu died on the spot while seven others sustained serious injuries and were rushed to various medical facilities, including Thika Level Five Hospital in critical condition. Four people later succumbed to injuries while being treated.

"This is a case of overloading and overspeeding. Drivers are taking advantage of the absence of traffic officers on the highway to carry excess passengers," Mr Lemaiyan said.

"The number is likely to go up. We haven't managed to account for every passenger that was in the overloaded matatu," the police chief added.

More than 70 people have died in road carnage in different parts of the country in the last one week even as authorities call for careful driving during the festivities.