Three siblings from Waterloo, Iowa — Emmanuel (13), Njeri (16) and Kairu (6) — died after a road crash during a family trip in Kenya on Jan. 4. Emmanuel and Kairu were pronounced dead at the scene near Soysambu on the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway; Njeri later died in intensive care, according to a GoFundMe update. The children’s parents survived the accident. Memorials were held in Nairobi and the family’s hometown, and a fundraiser was launched to support the grieving parents.
Three Iowa Siblings Killed in ‘Devastating’ Kenya Crash During Family Vacation — Parents Survive
(L-R) Kairu Winkelpeck, Njeri DeLeon and Emmanuel DeLeonGoFundMe
A family from Waterloo, Iowa, is grieving after three children were killed in a road accident while on a trip to Kenya on Jan. 4.
Kenyan authorities and local media identified the victims as Emmanuel DeLeon, 13; Njeri DeLeon, 16; and Kairu Winkelpleck, 6. According to reports from NBC affiliate KWWL and Kenyan outlets The Star, Tuko and Citizen Digital, two of the children — Emmanuel and Kairu — were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in Soysambu, Gilgil, along the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway. Njeri was transported to an intensive care unit and later died, as confirmed in an update on a GoFundMe page set up to support the family.
“On January 4th, while on a dream family trip to Kenya, [the family] was involved in a devastating road accident,” the fundraiser said. “We are heartbroken to share that Emmanuel, an 8th grader at Hoover Middle School, Waterloo, Iowa and his younger brother Kairu passed away at the scene.”
The parents survived the crash but have been left to mourn in a foreign country, the fundraiser said. An update posted on Jan. 16 confirmed Njeri’s death and said funeral arrangements would be shared when available.
Community Tributes and Memorials
The siblings were from Waterloo, Iowa. Hoover Middle School, where Emmanuel was an eighth grader, acknowledged the loss on social media and organized a balloon release on Jan. 13 in his memory. A joint memorial service for Emmanuel, Njeri and Kairu was held at the International Christian Centre in Nairobi on Jan. 23, local outlet Tuko reported.
At the service, the children’s mother, Wangui Ndirangu, spoke of the family’s grief and the time she wished she had with her children: “No words can truly describe this moment,” she said, reflecting on how she would have spent more time with them and said “I love you” more often if she had known.
As of Jan. 26, the Kenya Police Service and the GoFundMe organizer had not immediately responded to media requests for comment. Supporters have established the fundraiser to help the parents with expenses and arrangements following the tragedy.
Sources: KWWL (NBC affiliate), The Star, Tuko, Citizen Digital, People, and the family GoFundMe.
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