NAIROBI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed and four others seriously injured in a road accident that occurred in the Kenyan capital Nairobi late Thursday.
Traffic Police Commandant Samuel Kimaru confirmed the incident involving a bus that rammed onto pedestrians after the driver lost control at Githarai roundabout along the Thika superhighway.
"We have confirmed four deaths and four injuries. We have rushed those injured to the hospital. The driver was speeding and lost control when the breaks failed and rammed into other vehicles and pedestrians at around 6:00 p.m. (local time)," Kimaru told Xinhua by telephone.
The traffic police commandant said the four died on the spot, adding that those rushed to hospital had serious injuries.
"We have launched investigations to establish the cause of the accident because those rushed to hospital had serious injuries. The death toll might rise," he said.
The accident comes as the National Traffic Safety Authority launched a program that will see motorists being charged on the spot after being arrested for violating traffic rules.
The new program has rolled out 13 mobile inspection units with each having a magistrate, a prosecutor and a prison officer accompanying the traffic officers to bring justice closer to the people.
NTSA Director General Isaac Kamau has attributed cases of increased road accidents to speeding, adding that his units will be targeting Public Service Vehicles with faulty speed governors.
Kenya being ranked among the countries with the highest fatal crash rates in the world following the increased cases of road accidents in the country.
The government has taken various measures to curb the disaster that is costing Kenyans lives among them launching the National Traffic Safety Authority three months ago that has been mandated to restore sanity on our roads. NTSA says the inspection program will run for 100 days.
The National police chief, David Kimaiyo, has directed traffic police officers to be strict while enforcing traffic regulations on the road.
The number of people who have died from roads accidents from January to July has reached over 1380 compared to 1383 in the same period last year.
Kimaiyo said the total number of accidents between January and July 2012 was 3,667 compared to 3,324 in the same period in 2013.
"Following a stream of interventions, the number of people who have died from roads accidents has declined to 1,377 for the first half of 2013," he said last week.
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