At least 8 killed, 4 injured in road accident in W. Kenya

At least eight people were killed and four others seriously injured in a grisly road accident on Monday in Homa Bay County in Western Kenya.

Nyanza Regional Traffic Commandant Joseph Omukata said four people died on the spot while four others succumbed to injured in the local hospital.

He said three others were in critical condition after a 14- seater minibus (matatu) rolled over several times at Nyakwere area.

Omukata said the vehicle had a tyre burst causing the driver to lose control, adding that three students were among those who died in the accident.

He added that another four sustained serious injuries and are admitted at the hospital, adding that the police have launched further investigations into the accident. He urged drivers to be cautious on the roads.

"We have launched investigations to ascertain the cause of the accident. Unfortunately, the driver is among the dead," he said.

The road accident comes as the Kenya experienced reduction in the carnage with 311 reductions of fatalities recorded in 2014 compared to 2013.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau said on Sunday the reduction was due to what he described as "multifaceted interventions taken by the government."

"The 2015 saw reduction fatal road crash victims by 9.7 percent with a total of 311 lives saved," he explained, adding that 2,907 lives were lost in 2014. In 2013, there were 3,318 people who died in road accidents.

In 2014, deaths of pedestrians topped the list with 1,340 reported deaths followed by passengers at 642 deaths. In the same year, 391 motorcyclists and 268 drivers were also killed.

Kamau said the government had managed to implement elaborate institutional, legal and behavioral change interventions targeted at restoring sanity on Kenyan roads and reducing the number of casualties. Endi