Drama ensued Tuesday morning along the busy Uhuru Highway, GPO roundabout when a motorist hit another vehicle and sped off as police watched helplessly.
The vehicle, a blue Nissan Xtrail of registration number KCQ 177R is said to have hit a black Toyota V8 at the busy roundabout when police decided to intervene in the case.
However, its occupant would refuse to neither roll down the windows nor disembark to negotiate with the Toyota V8 owner who can be seen pacing up and down after assessing the extent of damage on his luxurious car.
As a traffic police officer moves towards the driver’s side, the occupant steps on the gas pedal leaving the V8 owner scampering to avoid getting run over.
The traffic cop trips on the other side as the driver speeds off away from the accident scene in full view of other terrified motorists using the route.
Hit and run on Uhuru Highway, at the GPO roundabout.
Driver of KCQ 177R drove off as the police officer tried to record the accident #DayBreak pic.twitter.com/Dvo9wSaxgL— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 15, 2019
The law requires motorists involved in an accident to help in any rescue mission (in serious accidents) and report the cases as soon as possible.
However, motorists are permitted by law to flee the scene of an accident should there be a potent risk of their lives or property but report to the nearest police station thereafter.
This is in view of the rise in arson attacks by mobs and motorcycle riders who often take the law into their own hands and lynch motorists who cause accidents.
Different angle of the same incident pic.twitter.com/aDKww0uXq2
— Kimani Mbugua (@IamKimaniMbugua) October 15, 2019
Nairobi city invested heavily on CCTV cameras spread across the streets to monitor hit and run drivers who had become notorious for reckless driving.
The most targeted among this group were the unruly matatu industry. Drivers are reported to hand over their buses to untrained street touts who flee after causing accidents as a result of recklessness.
In 2015, the NTSA report indicated that almost half of the hit-and-run accidents happen in Nairobi, with a quarter of the drivers successfully fleeing from the accident scene.
A reckless driver risks a fine of between Sh100,000-300,000 depending on whether they are first-time or repeat offenders.