{"id":7681,"date":"2026-10-03T01:34:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T08:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7945047\/at-least-13-most-of-them-catholic-pilgrims-killed-in-a-road-crash-on-a-highway-in-kenya\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T10:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T17:30:11","slug":"a-road-crash-on-a-highway-in-kenya-killed-at-least-17-people-most-of-them-catholic-pilgrims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7681\/a-road-crash-on-a-highway-in-kenya-killed-at-least-17-people-most-of-them-catholic-pilgrims\/","title":{"rendered":"A road crash on a highway in Kenya killed at least 17 people, most of them Catholic pilgrims"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) \u2014 A crash involving multiple vehicles on the highway to the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on Saturday killed 17 people, most of them pilgrims on the way to a prayer site, officials said. <\/p>\n

The crash in the Salama area happened after midnight when a truck driver tried and failed to overtake another truck, police said. That caused a collision with vehicles including a van carrying pilgrims, police said. <\/p>\n

The van’s driver and 16 passengers, most of them women, died at the scene, police said.<\/p>\n

The pilgrims were going to a prayer site in Nakuru County, west of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, said Martin Kivuva, archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.<\/p>\n

The archbishop said in a statement that he and others were \u201csaddened with lots of grief\u201d over the deaths. President William Ruto offered condolences to the families, friends, parishioners and the entire Catholic community “who are mourning this painful loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
People gather at the scene where a 14-seater minibus was involved in an accident killing all the passengers, in the Salama area, Makueni County, Eastern Kenya, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kasuku)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Road crashes are a problem<\/a> across Africa. In Kenya and elsewhere in the region, the crashes often are blamed on poorly maintained vehicles, excess speed and poor road conditions.<\/p>\n

Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority called upon all motorists to exercise extreme caution, avoid dangerous overtaking and strictly observe lane discipline. The government agency said that the stretch where the crash happened was a so-called black spot and that recommendations to address safety concerns had been made.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
People view the wreckage of a 14-seater minibus that was involved in an accident killing all the passengers, in the Salama area, Makueni County, Eastern Kenya, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kasuku)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
People view the wreckage of a 14-seater minibus that was involved in an accident killing all the passengers, in the Salama area, Makueni County, Eastern Kenya, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kasuku)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
People view the wreckage of a 14-seater minibus that was involved in an accident killing all the passengers, in the Salama area, Makueni County, Eastern Kenya, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kasuku)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) \u2014 A crash involving multiple vehicles on the highway to the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on Saturday killed 17 people, most of them pilgrims on the way to a prayer site, officials said. The crash in the Salama area happened after midnight when a truck driver tried and failed to overtake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":7683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"202fef54-b9af-40f0-b06c-c5fbefcdd26c","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Andrew Kasuku","published":"2026-10-03 01:34:55","updated":"2026-10-03 10:21:26","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1303,1456,1304],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-7681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-religion","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7681\/a-road-crash-on-a-highway-in-kenya-killed-at-least-17-people-most-of-them-catholic-pilgrims\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"A road crash on a highway in Kenya killed at least 17 people, most of them Catholic pilgrims","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7681\/a-road-crash-on-a-highway-in-kenya-killed-at-least-17-people-most-of-them-catholic-pilgrims\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7681\/a-road-crash-on-a-highway-in-kenya-killed-at-least-17-people-most-of-them-catholic-pilgrims\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-c275440cb56253a37fa18f778ed5eee85b2a92aa8a831bc6afd423914a5a4b9c.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-c275440cb56253a37fa18f778ed5eee85b2a92aa8a831bc6afd423914a5a4b9c.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-10-03T08:34:55Z","datePublished":"2026-10-03T08:34:55Z","dateModified":"2026-10-03T17:30:11Z"},"rendered":"