Road crash shatters family, kills girl with bright future

Sunday began like any other day for Hellen Awino in Otonglo, Kisumu.

At dawn, she left for Kibuye to collect stock for her market stall. She expected her 21-year-old daughter, Rose Aoko, to arrive in the afternoon to help, as was her routine.

However, Aoko never arrived. Initially unconcerned, Awino asked her husband, Henry Olango, if he had seen her. He explained he had sent her to town. By 3pm, Aoko had still not returned.

Olango’s last conversation with Aoko was around 3pm. She told him she was heading to the stage to board a tuk tuk back to the market.

An hour later, the family received news of a road accident near Kotetni Primary School involving multiple vehicles.

Awino and Olango separately rushed to the scene and then to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, where the victims had been taken.

The hospital was overwhelmed. Survivors were bleeding and screaming in pain. For Awino, hope turned to horror when she spotted her daughter’s body among two covered corpses.

“Her eyes were still open. For a second, I thought she was alive,” she recalls. Aoko’s legs were broken, she had sustained severe head injuries, and blood oozed from deep wounds.

Olango also found her at the hospital. “She was already dead,” he said quietly.

Aoko was one of three people killed in the crash. The accident involved a vehicle from Health CS Aden Duale’s convoy, a tuk tuk, and a 14-seater matatu.

Nineteen others survived, suffering from broken limbs, deep cuts and head injuries.

Survivors recalled a Prado attempting to overtake another vehicle before colliding with the tuk tuk and a nearby Nissan. “I just heard a loud bang and suddenly the vehicle started rolling. I lost consciousness after that,” one survivor said.

The crash has shocked the Otonglo community. Aoko was the eldest of five children and the only daughter. She had recently completed her exams at Kisumu Medical Training College and was preparing to graduate.

“She was calm, respectful and loved God,” Awino said. “Even if you denied her food, she would never miss church.”

Olango reflected on the loss with deep pain. “We have lost a strong person. This is a reminder of the dangers on our roads. Someone’s child, someone’s parent, someone’s future is always on that road. Drive carefully.”

The family is now calling for support from well-wishers and the government. What began as an ordinary Sunday ended in grief, leaving an empty chair where Aoko once sat.