A semi-trailer truck hits three other vehicles in Arusha, kills 25, injures more than 20 but the lorry driver is nowhere to be found.
It was the first tragic road accident to occur at the junction of the newly built East African By-Pass Road in Ngaramtoni Ward of Arusha Rural District and so far, the death toll from the multiple-vehicle crash has reached 25.
The Police Commissioner of Operations, CP Awadh Juma Haji described the dead victims as 14 men, 10 women and the latest addition to the deceased being a young girl.
Among the dead persons there were seven foreigners of different nationalities. According to reports from Mount Meru Referral Hospital, a total of 21 injured persons from the accident have been taken to the facility for medical treatment.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Arusha-Namanga road and East African By-Pass Road in an area known as Kibaoni, in the outskirts of Arusha City.
It involved four vehicles, including a large semi-trailer truck of Mack Model believed to have been a Kenyan Transit Cargo Haulier bearing registration number KAC 943H.
The truck belonging to KAY Construction Company of Nairobi was pulling a trailer with plate numbers ZF 6778 when it crashed, or hit three other vehicles including a passenger commuter van, a school bus and a private car.
Early reports from the Commissioner of Police are to the effect that the speeding Mack Truck had failed brakes and hit three other vehicles on the road.
The Yellow School Bus is a Toyota Coaster with registrations T 673 DEW operating under the New Vision School, while the passenger carrier is a Nissan Caravan Combi with plate numbers T623 CQF and most of the victims were riding in the commuter van.
The private car which was also involved in the highway accident in Arusha includes a Mercedes Benz Sedan with registration number T 879 DBY.
Apparently, the driver of the giant rig which crashed into other cars, managed to escape unhurt and later on escaped from the scene of the accident.
Commissioner Awadh Haji says the police are still searching for the foreign truck driver, believing that he may still be holed up somewhere in Arusha.
Posting on her Twitter account, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has sent a message of condolence to the families of the deceased and wished the injured persons a quick recovery.
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