Fresh details have emerged over the road accident that claimed the life of former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo.
As Kenyans and leaders continue to question the circumstances that led to the fatal crash involving Jirongo’s Mercedes Benz and a Climax Coaches bus, an eye witness has stepped forward to give an account of the accident, which contradicts the narration of the Climax Coaches bus driver.
A petrol station security guard provided new information regarding the accident, casting doubts on what the bus driver had made Kenyans to believe.
Ephraim Cheptek, the security guard at the petrol station where Jirongo had entered and left without fuelling before crashing right in front of the station, contradicted the driver’s earlier claims that Jirongo was overlapping when he rammed into the bus.
Cheptek, who witnessed the crash, said he was the only person alert at the time of the accident, which occurred at 3:00 am, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the crash were unusual.
“At the time when he was crashed by the bus, I was the only person who was awake, and I clearly saw what took place,” Cheptek told journalists.
According to the guard, Jirongo drove into the petrol station in a very unusual manner, as if he intended to refuel his vehicle. He, however, never fuelled his vehicle and instead drove away.
“When he entered the petrol station, he slowed, and while he was about to refuel his vehicle, he again drove away and joined the road. So the way he approached the petrol station was unusual,” the security guard added.
Cheptek went ahead to refute claims that the road was congested at the time of the crash, noting that the highway was calm and clear, with no gridlock on either lane.
He further disclosed that no vehicle was trailing Jirongo’s Mercedes before the accident and that the alleged traffic only began immediately after the deadly crash.
“The road was calm, and there was no traffic, and it was after the accident that other vehicles began lining up, causing a traffic jam on this road,” Cheptek said.
Cheptek’s account, however, directly contradicts that of the driver of the ill-fated bus, who had earlier alleged that the politician was driving from a petrol station when he noticed a heavy traffic jam along his lane and decided to overtake.
The driver on Saturday, December 13, insisted that the accident was avoidable, adding that although he saw Jirongo’s vehicle overtaking, there was nowhere to escape, prompting the head-on-collision.
“When I tried to save him from crashing into my vehicle, I felt the possibility of my vehicle rolling over, so I stopped and let him ram into my bus. When the police came, it is when i learned that the victim was Honourable Jirongo,” the driver stated.
