At least six people lost their lives in a collision involving a lorry and a 14-seater matatu in the Mbooni area of Makueni County, according to police reports.
Officers said the crash occurred after the speeding lorry is believed to have veered out of control and rammed into a parked matatu at Ngoluni Stage in Mbooni East on Friday, November 21.
Witnesses noted that the lorry swerved off the newly paved road at Ngoluni Junction and struck a matatu that was in the process of picking up passengers travelling to Machakos and Nairobi.
Police said six people died instantly, while several others suffered serious injuries and were taken to Machakos Level Five Hospital and other nearby health centres in Makueni.
Among the victims were four Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates who were on their way home after completing their national exams.
Mbooni East Sub-County Police Commander Ibrahim Karani said those injured were transferred to Makueni Level Five Hospital, while the bodies of the deceased were moved to the mortuary.
He confirmed that an investigation into the crash is underway.
On the same day, police recorded at least 15 fatalities from separate road incidents.
The casualties included six passengers, four motorcyclists, four pedestrians and one cyclist.
Additionally, 14 people — among them six passengers, three pedestrians, two riders and a driver — were injured. Police said they were receiving treatment in various hospitals.
These incidents come amid a rise in road crashes reported over the past two weeks.
Just last week, multiple people died when a bus collided with a lorry on the Nairobi–Mombasa highway.
The November 15 accident happened after the bus driver, travelling to Mombasa from Kisumu via Nairobi, reportedly lost control and crashed into an approaching lorry in the Kinyambu area of Makueni County.
Data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) shows that between January and October this year, the country recorded 3,890 road deaths, compared to 3,805 during the same period last year.
According to NTSA, the fatalities include 1,460 pedestrians, 351 drivers, 378 pillion passengers, 57 cyclists, and 1,000 motorcyclists.
There is an ongoing campaign aimed at tackling the growing problem.
