Yesterday at 7.00 pm, A tractor overturned along the newly built Kisumu-Kakamega highway at Mamboleo junction seriously injuring the driver and his assistant aka tandboi. The tractor, which belongs to the West Kenya company, was transporting sugarcane from Muhoroni sub-county to Western Kenya.
According to Owino, an eye-witness who spoke to Kisumu City News, the tractor driver was trying to overtake a matatu which was headed towards Mamboleo market when the tractor driver lost control and hit a water tunnel along the highway.
“I saw a matatu moving at a very high speed towards Lake Basin Mall while the tractor was also behind it approaching the roundabout on its way to Kakamega. As the tractor tried to overtake the matatu, the tractor driver lost control before the tractor overturned, landing into a ditch”, Owino told Kisumu City News.
The driver and his co-worker sustained severe injuries and were rushed to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital for treatment.
By the time Kisumu City News arrived at the accident scene, sugarcane, which fell off the tractor, were still scattered around the overturned tractor. Passers-by and other good Samaritans helped collect the sugarcane as a crowd gathered at the scene to digest what had happened.
The Mamboleo junction is a notorious hotspot where multiple accidents have been witnessed before. It is at around the same area where the late Benga Maestro, Daniel Owino Misiani, lost his life in 2006 when a matatu he was travelling in smashed into an on-coming vehicle, killing the musician instantly.
Mr Ajuma, who operates a retail shop at Mamboleo junction, told Kisumu City News that several accidents have occurred at the intersection and that it should be designated a black-spot. “We witness accidents here almost daily, and it is high time the junction is declared a black spot by the government”, Ajuma told Kisumu City news.
“NTSA should add more bumps along the road to caution drivers while heavy penalties should be imposed on those who drive without driving license,” the trader said.
Since the launching of the road by President Uhuru Kenyatta on 13th December 2018, several tragic accidents have been witnessed at Mamboleo junction.
Just before the Presidential launch of the road in August 2018, five people lost their lives following a tragic accident at the junction while 13 others were seriously injured.
Report by Favoured Williams
