A middle aged man on Wednesday night drowned after the vehicle he was driving plunged into River Kotoruk at the bridge along the Makutano–Kapkoris road in Kapenguria town, West Pokot County following the heavy rainfall pounding the area.
The body of the man identified as Sammy Ruto, an engineer at Safaricom company was on Thursday morning found a few meters from the bridge.
Confirming the incident, Kapenguria West Pokot Sub County Deputy police commandant Julius Kyumbule said the man was coming from Kapkoris heading to Makutano township when he lost control of his saloon car and plunged into the river.
“The car has not been damaged badly and we suspect the deceased was trying to save himself from the over flowing river water. We saw the door of his car open and he might have struggled to get out before he died,” said Kyumbule.
He said skid marks showed the vehicle may have rolled several times, crashed onto the rocky cliff and plunged into the water.
The OCPD said that they don’t where the man was coming from at that time of curfew. “We suspect that may be he was coming from his personal affairs,” he said.
He said skid marks showed the vehicle may have rolled several times and descended into the water.
He further cautioned those driving while drunk that they’re only putting their lives at risk.
A resident, Rofina Mengich, urged the Kenya Rural Roads Authority to consider placing more guard rails to avert more deaths.
The body has been retrieved by the police and moved to Kapenguria County Hospital mortuary.