A boda boda rider and his two pillion passengers died on Tuesday morning after they rammed into an oncoming bus along the Garissa-Nairobi highway.
The three died on the spot. No one in the bus was injured.
The accident occurred about two kilometres away from Garissa town.
Witnesses said the boda boda was overtaking a Probox at Corner Punda when it collided head-on with the bus. Both the rider and the Probox were heading to Garissa town. The bus was travelling to Nairobi.
Both the bus from the Ambasa Coach fleet and the rider were speeding.
“The rider realised the bus was too close and tried to slow down so he could get back to his lane. He hit the Probox on the side and the impact threw them on the lane of the bus,” a witness who did not want to be named said.
A police officer confirmed the witness account and accused the rider of speeding and recklessness.
“Although the bus was speeding, had the boda boda rider slowed down and allowed the bus to pass before overtaking the Probox, this accident could not have happened,” the officer said.
The Probox sped off from the scene.
Another witness said it was the second time a bus from the same fleet was causing a fatal accident at the same spot.
The incident attracted hundreds of curious onlookers from Garissa and the Mororo neighbourhood leading to a huge traffic snarl-up. Police had hectic time controlling the crowd that milled around the scene.
Angry boda boda riders threatened to set the bus ablaze but police and elders thwarted them.
The bodies were taken to the Garissa Referral Hospital Mortuary.
Edited by P.O