Police have explained last moments before the accident that caused the deaths of World Marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Garvais Hakizamana.
Elgeyo Marakwet police Commander Peter Mulinge said Sharon Kosgei, the lady passenger who survived the Sunday night crash, recorded a statement with the DCI two days ago.
Mulinge said according to her statement, she noticed the car which was being driven by Kiptum veering off the road at the area where the accident occurred.
“According to her statement, she quickly alerted Kiptum that they were going out of the road at which point Kiptum accelerated and was unable to control the car leading to the accident,”Mulinge said.
He said Sharon indicated that she was alert before the accident but does not know how she survived.
Mulinge further said a postmortem report on the body of Kiptum’s coach indicated that he had taken food which had not been digested.
Sharon in her statement also told police that they had taken food in Eldoret before heading towards Kaptagat.
Mulinge said investigations into the matter are still ongoing.
The family of Kiptum’s Rwandese coach Garvais Hakizamana has questioned circumstances surrounding the accident and demanded further investigations.
The family questioned how Sharon survived the accident considering the extensive damage the vehicle incurred.
A niece to the coach, Sandrine Usawe, said they want an in-depth probe into the accident.
“We are not satisfied and we are asking the Kenya government to carry out proper investigations into the accident,” she said.
‘We visited the scene of the accident and saw the body before the postmortem and the doctor said everything was normal and the cause of the death was injuries on the skull,” she added.
She said considering the state the car was in after the accident and considering how it crashed, “We are just wondering how someone can come out of the car without any wounds,” she said.
Usawe said it’s impossible to believe there was a survivor considering the state the car was in.
A team of pathologists led by Dr Benson Macharia and DCI officers were present at the Eldoret hospital morgue where a postmortem on the body of the coach was done on Wednesday.
Dr Macharia confirmed the exercise had been conducted but the family initially declined to give details on the autopsy results.
Dr Macharia said the deceased had serious fractures on the skull and multiple bruises on several parts of the body.
Hakizamana’s body will on Saturday be flown to Nairobi and then to Kigali Rwanda ahead of burial.
The coach diead alongside Kiptum along the Elgeyo Marakwet-Ravine road on Sunday night at around 11pm.
The bodies have been preserved at Eldoret hospital morgue as DCI officers step up investigations to establish the cause of the accident.
“We will release a report after we complete the investigations,” Mulinge said.
A team of DCI detectives visited the scene of the accident and areas in Eldoret town where the deceased were seen a few moments before the accident.
Kiptum”s family is yet to set a date for a postmortem on his body and burial date although Athletics Kenya officials said he will be buried on February 24.
