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Veteran photojournalist William Oeri, who was working for the People Daily, has died in a car crash.

The cameraman was involved in a head-on collision with a truck on Sunday evening in Murang’a County on his way to Nairobi.

Family and colleagues learned of his death today after he failed to turn up for an assignment.

His family, which lived with him in Nairobi, was also alarmed when he failed to return home on Sunday from Kirinyaga, where he had gone to visit his relatives. Oeri is believed to have left Kirinyaga early afternoon on Sunday.

“This is to inform you that we have received the sad news of the passing of our colleague, William Oeri, in a car crash on Sunday evening.

“He was driving alone on the Nyeri-Nairobi highway when the unfortunate incident occurred,” said People Daily Managing Editor Mbugua Ng’ang’a in a message to colleagues.

“The management is in touch with his family and will keep you updated on funeral arrangements. Let us keep his family in our thoughts and prayers in this difficult time,” said Charles Adhola, the MediaMax Network Ltd Human Resource manager.

Colleague Zadock Angira narrated how he tried to contact Oeri today morning without success as they prepared to travel together for a news assignment.

“I got the police report at around 7.06 am but I never thought it was one of us. At 7.52 am I called to ask Oeri if he could accompany me to Westlands. His phone was off,” said the senior crime writer, who had also been his colleague at the Daily Nation in the past. Before joining People Daily last year, Oeri spent more than a decade at the Nation Media Group.

Police in Makuyu said the photojournalist was driving from Kirinyaga county towards Kenol on the Sagana-Kenol road on Sunday at around 3pm.

On reaching Kitini area, his vehicle collided head-on with a lorry, that was transporting sand in the opposite direction. The lorry was being driven by Robert Maina Warungu who sustained minor injuries.

Due to the impact, Oeri’s car burst into flames but wananchi used sand to put off the flames. The body was moved to General Kago mortuary awaiting identification and post-mortem,” police said