PSV slams into trailer near Kariandusi; highway turns into a death trap yet again
Nakuru, Kenya – The country was once again thrust into mourning on Sunday, September 28, after 13 people lost their lives in a grisly road accident along the ever-busy Nakuru–Nairobi Highway.
The midday tragedy unfolded near Kariandusi in Gilgil Sub-County, when a 14-seater passenger vehicle rammed head-on into a trailer, reducing the PSV into a mangled heap of twisted metal. Gilgil Police Commander Winston Mwakio confirmed the fatalities, adding that several survivors sustained critical injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals.
Eyewitnesses said the force of the impact pushed the PSV off the tarmac, scattering debris across the highway and causing a major traffic snarl-up that stretched for kilometers. “It was a horrifying scene… the screams, the wreckage, the bodies—it’s something you cannot unsee,” said one motorist who joined locals in the frantic rescue operation before emergency services arrived.
This marks the second accident on the highway in less than 24 hours, following the Saturday evening crash in Kimende, Kiambu County, where a St. Mary’s ambulance ferrying six people was wrecked.
The accident is part of a string of bloody crashes that have plagued Kenyan roads in recent weeks. In August alone, more than 50 lives were lost within 72 hours in separate accidents across Kisumu, Kajiado, and Nairobi. The spate of carnage forced President William Ruto to demand accountability from traffic enforcers and warned rogue operators that the state would no longer tolerate laxity on road safety.
Analysts say the Nakuru–Nairobi Highway remains one of the country’s deadliest blackspots, with poor road discipline, speeding, and fatigue repeatedly flagged as leading killers.
As wreckage was towed from Kariandusi Sunday evening, grief hung heavy in the air, underscoring a chilling reality: Kenya’s highways have become open graves, and unless action is taken, the death toll will keep rising.
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