Collision on Nithi Bridge: Among the 12 dead are 9 women and 2 children returning from a parent blessing event

• Among those involved in the Nithi Bridge accident were nine women returning from a parent blessing event in Meru.
• Elizabeth, a team member who travelled in another van, said there were a total of 20 women and two children in attendance and described the event as beautiful.
• Jared Bikundo, the driver of Elizabeth's van, explained to TUKO.co.ke how the accident happened and said he observed the scene

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics, news and features in Kenya’s digital and print media.

A group of women are in deep sadness after their colleagues died in a tragic accident on the Nithi Bridge along the Meru-Embu Road.

The accident killed 12 people, including two children, nine women and the driver of the van. According to police reports, several vehicles were involved in the accident.

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Victims of the Nithi bridge disaster returned from the event

TUKO.co.ke spoke to Elizabeth, a team member, who said that the group had attended a parent blessing event at a colleague’s residence in Meru.

Elizabeth explained that the 20 women traveled in two minibuses to the celebration, where the parents were honored with gifts from various guests.

When her vehicle was only a few meters away from the accident scene, Elizabeth heard a loud bang and turned around. She saw that the van had crashed.

“The event was joyful and unforgettable. We were visiting a friend who had invited us to a parent blessing. The accident was traumatic and I even lost my phone in the chaos,” she said.

The other women are currently so badly affected that none of them can be reached by phone, says Elizabeth.

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Jared Bikundo describes the accident on the Nithi Bridge

Jared Bikundo, the driver of the other van Elizabeth got into, described the harrowing scene and said he witnessed the accident.

Bikundo reported that some vehicles did not stop to help, so he had to flag down others. Tragically, as they tried to rescue the victims, they found that they had all died on the spot, as there were no screams or sounds coming from the van.

“After crossing the Nithi Bridge, I saw the vehicle speeding uncontrollably. It seemed as if it had lost its brakes, crossed into the opposite lane and collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle before overturning. I parked my van and watched the accident as people were screaming. When I tried to help, the van's doors were locked, voices could be heard and the vehicle was badly damaged. Everyone had died,” said Bikundo.

9-month-old baby dies in Kilifi-Malindi disaster

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In other news, the death of a nine-month-old baby was confirmed following a tragic accident on the Kilifi-Malindi road.

Authorities confirmed that 17 other people were hospitalized and two of them are in critical condition.

Fatma Hadi, Kilifi District Police Commander, said the bus went out of control, veered off the road and overturned after a tire burst.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, multimedia journalist and editor at TUKO.co.ke

Source: TUKO.co.ke