Three people are dead and three schoolgirls are fighting for their lives after a vehicle driven by an Italian national ploughed into six pedestrians at Kibirigwi Trading Centre along the Sagana-Karatina Road in Ndia, Kirinyaga County, on Thursday evening.
Kirinyaga West Sub-County Police Commander Julius Gaya confirmed that the accident occurred at around 5 p.m. and involved a Toyota Wish driven by Scavo Nicola Antonio, who was travelling from Karatina towards Sagana when he lost control at the trading centre and struck six pedestrians standing on the left side of the road.
All six victims were rushed to Kibirigwi Health Centre with multiple injuries. A three-year-old girl was the first to die, succumbing to her injuries while still at the facility. A 24-year-old man later died while receiving treatment at Karatina General Hospital, and a 63-year-old woman was pronounced dead on arrival at Jamii Hospital in Karatina after being referred from the same facility.
The three survivors are all girls aged between nine and 11 years — pupils at Kibirigwi Primary School — and remain admitted at Karatina General Hospital in serious condition. The bodies of the deceased have been transferred to a local mortuary pending post-mortem examinations.
News of the deaths spread rapidly through the trading centre, igniting fury among residents who descended on the scene and attempted to lynch the driver before police intervened and escorted him to safety.
“We wanted to set the driver’s vehicle on fire, but a police officer advised us against it because it would interfere with investigations,” some residents said, explaining how officers managed to preserve the scene.
The incident caused a near-total standstill on the busy highway for close to four hours, with traffic disrupted between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Motorists travelling between Nairobi and Karatina were forced onto alternative routes as security personnel worked to restore calm. Police Commander Gaya and Kiine Location Chief David Githinji later addressed the crowd, persuading residents to disperse. Normal traffic flow resumed at around 10 p.m.
The damaged Toyota Wish, which sustained impact on its left front side, was towed to Sagana Police Station pending inspection and further investigations.
For the Kibirigwi community, Thursday’s tragedy is not a shock — it is a familiar nightmare. Residents have long demanded the completion of a pedestrian footbridge along the dual carriageway section, arguing that the stalled project has cost lives that should never have been lost.
Three young girls in hospital beds, and three families burying their dead, are the latest price of that delay.
