Two police officers and three civilians were on Monday night injured when a lorry driver rammed a roadblock on Thika Road mounted along Thika Road, Nairobi.
The roadblock had been mounted in the Roasters area to enable police to implement the Covid-19 pandemic containment measures and in particular the curfew rules.
Witnesses and police said the accident happened when a speeding lorry headed for the CBD rammed onto a police lorry that had blocked the highway to enable police to conduct a search on motorists caught up in the menace.
Police have been deployed on major routes to implement the measures aimed at containing the spread of the disease.
A roadblock had been mounted at the Roasters area at about 10.40 pm when a driver of a lorry rammed onto a police lorry forming part of the blockade injuring at least five people.
Police say one officer sustained a dislocation on the left arm while the second one had head injuries. They were rushed to the hospital in stable condition.
Three people who were on board the lorry that caused the accident were also injured with two having injuries on the legs and one on the head.
Kasarani police boss Peter Mwanzo said officials believe the lorry driver was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Mr Mwanzo said the lorry driver was ferrying rice towards the city when the accident happened at around 11pm.
“The driver sped past the barricade and hit one of our trucks before skidding on the wet tarmac and losing control of the vehicle which then overturned and hit a rail guard,” explained Mr Mwanzo.
Three passengers in the lorry survived the crash as well as the lorry driver, Mr Mwanzo said.
Police had a hard time rescuing the occupants of the lorry after they got stuck in the vehicle. A team from the fire brigade intervened.
They were admitted to a city hospital in stable condition.
The driver of the lorry was arrested and told police he lost control of it as he approached the roadblock.
The incident came a day after the Pangani Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samir Yunus was also injured in the head as he manned a roadblock along Dr Griffins Road when a speeding motorcycle ran over him.
Officials said Chief Inspector Yunus sustained head injuries after he fell out of a heavy knock he got from the rider.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was admitted.
Police authorities said the cyclist was arrested and the motorcycle detained.
The cyclist told officials he lost control of it as he sped home to beat the curfew rule.
The accident happened at about 8.30 pm. A curfew and partial lockdown were introduced in Nairobi and the other four counties to help contain the spread of the disease.
For the third day, some motorists were detained at various sites for flouting the curfew rules.
On Saturday night, it took two hours before police finally allowed motorists using the routes to drive through the blockages past 11 pm.
Citing the 8 pm curfew rule, security officers erected the roadblocks and stated those caught there had flouted the law.
Hundreds of Nairobi residents were stuck on busy routes.
