Faustine Lipuku Lukale recalls the last moments he had with his wife before she passed away in a road accident while he was driving along Thika Road. Their two-year-old daughter survived and is recovering in hospital. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU
Faustine Lipuka Lukale is a very bitter man. What started as a joyful day on August 15, 2020, ended in tears after he was involved in a road accident that claimed his wife’s life and left his two-year-old daughter fighting for her life.
The father of one blames loose chippings on the Thika superhighway, which was recently resurfaced, for leaving him a widower at the age of 24.
He blames the death of his wife Milka Mumbi, 22, on the loose chippings on a roadway that had recently been resurfaced.
Speaking to the Nation, Mr Lukale narrated how on that day, he and his wife spent the day with relatives at Juja Farm only to be involved in an accident on their way back to the city.
“It was around 8pm. When we reached near Kenyatta University footbridge we suddenly saw a stalled car. As we approached it I tried to brake but the brakes failed. As I tried to swerve to avoid hitting it, another car hooted at us. I tried passing the stalled car but I crashed into another car that was also stalled but was not visible,” he narrated.
He says he lost consciousness and when he came to, he didn’t see his family in the car.
Unbeknown to him, the car had travelled almost 100 metres while he was unconscious before hitting guard rails.
CRASH IMPACT
The impact of the crash had thrown his wife and daughter out of the car.
“I rushed to where my wife had landed and realised that she was not moving. She was lying in the middle of the road while my daughter was metres away. She too was not moving.”
According to Mr Lukale, the two stalled cars had also been involved in an accident due to the loose chippings but the motorist had not put a caution sign to warn other road users that there was an accident ahead.
While they were struggling to move his wife and daughter to a safer spot so that they don’t get run over, another car also hit the stalled cars.
“I tried to stop other motorists to help me rush my family to hospital but no one responded, all they did was slow down and take pictures of the accident. Luckily, after almost 20 minutes a good samaritan, who later told me he was an Uber driver, took my daughter Talisha Truphena Ongoro to Life Line Hospital, Wendani. My wife was pronounced dead by ambulance attendants who came to the scene almost an hour after the incident had occurred,” he said.
She was buried in Butere a week after the accident.
Mr Lukale says when the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) patrol car came soon after the accident, the agency offered little help.
His daughter is currently admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital where she was transferred to the following day and spent 19 days in the Intensive Care Unit.
“She had a fractured skull, but the doctor informed us that she is in management stage and could be discharged in a week or two but will need a nurse to take care of her for a while,” he said.
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