At least 16 people were confirmed dead on Thursday after a Pwani University bus collided with a matatu at the Kayole Bridge on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner Kisilu Mutua confirmed this number of fatalities but said more bodies could still be in the bus.
"That is the latest figure but the number could be higher. I am still getting updates from traffic officers and hospital authorities," said the administrator. Pwani University Deputy Vice Chancellor James Kahindi said students were heading to the Chepkoilel campus for a national sports event when the accident occurred.
Prof Kaindi said two buses left with 120 learners, four drivers and one sports officer.
"The students left the school this morning and on reaching Naivasha, they had an accident. We have asked our chief security officer, who was in Nairobi on official duty, to go there and give us more information so we can inform the public. We are in Kilifi, relying on information from other people," he said.
The 14-seater matatu involved in the crash was heading to Nairobi from Nakuru. The two vehicles, thereafter, landed in ditches in opposite sides of the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.
Naivasha Sub-County Police Commander Samuel Waweru told The Standard that some of the deceased were students of Pwani University.
Several occupants were trapped in the wreckages of the two vehicles. The video drew mixed reactions from Kenyans online with the majority questioning why the driver with the dashcam didn't swerve when he approached the bus.
"This driver with the dashcam doesn't even try to swerve probably because he has the right of way. This is one of the number one contributors to accidents," Levi Kones intimated.
"The guy was speeding maybe when he realized the brakes had failed he tried avoiding hitting the car in front," Kiprono Brian stated. An eyewitness, who spoke to the media, intimated that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle after hitting a matatu that was joining the main road after picking up a passenger along the highway.
"The bus driver hooted continuously, with the vehicle moving at high speed," she stated.
Another witness affirmed that the brakes of the bus failed due to a steep descent.
"The bus hit the matatu from the rare twice before it landed in a ditch by the road," he pointed out.
According to Pwani University Deputy Vice Chancellor James Kahindi, two buses packed with 120 students were heading to Nakuru before the tragedy occurred in Naivasha.
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