3 dead in fatal Gilgil weighbridge accident (Photos)

3 people are reported dead after the driver of the vehicle he was driving was involved in an accident near the Gilgil weighbridge.

During the morning accident near the Gilgil weighbridge, three people including a woman said to be a political leader in Nairobi were seriously injured and admitted at a private hospital.

The personal car which was heading to Nairobi from Nakuru was overtaking a fleet of vehicles when it rammed head on into the incoming trailer.

Incidentally, the four were heading to Nairobi from Western Kenya after attending a burial of a friend when the accident occurred.

The accident caused a major traffic snarl-up on the busy road as police and members of the public moved in to rescue the injured passengers.

According to a witness James Kimani, there was the perennial jam along the road when the driver of the ill-fated vehicle decided to overtake.

He said that while overtaking, the driver under estimated the speed of the incoming trailer and ended up ramming on its side.

“The three who included a woman died in the spot while the other three were rushed to the nearby St Marys in critical condition,” he said.

A senior police officer who declined to be named confirmed the accident adding that the injured woman and the other two were in serious but stable condition.

The officer said that the occupants from the trailer escaped with slight injuries adding that the wrecks had been towed to Gilgil police station.

“There are reports that the injured woman is a political leader but we have not confirmed this but she is currently in hospital,” said the officer.

The officer said that initial investigations indicated that the driver of the personal car was driving on the wrong side of the when the accident occurred.

Meanwhile, a 60-year-old man is fighting for his life in Naivasha sub-county hospital after he was attacked and seriously injured by a hippo.

The man was working near Marula farm when the wild animal which was searching for pastures attacked him as cases of human-wildlife conflict continued to escalate.

A witness Julius Maobe said that the victim ended up with fractures on one of the legs and serious injuries on the abdomen.

“In the last couple of months we have seen an increase in cases of hippos straying into nearby farms and we are glad that in the latest case KWS officers shot dead the animal,” he said.

Police are on the scene.