7 die in Enugu auto-crash- FRSC

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says that seven persons lost their lives in an auto-crash in Aki-na-Ukwa Junction of Port Harcourt-Enugu Road within Agwu council area of Enugu State.

The FRSC Sector Commander for Enugu State, Mr. Ogbonnaya Kalu, who confirmed this to newsmen on Friday in Enugu, said that the incident happened at about 4p.m. on Thursday.

Kalu noted that the personnel of the corps, who were on ground at the scene to about 12 noon on Friday, had to get specialised equipment to free three of the deceased that were trapped in a car involved in the accident.

He said that the accident was caused by a trailer truck that failed break and rammed into shops along the expressway at the junction and finally hit a car at a nearby mechanic workshop at the junction as well.

The commander noted that the trailer, which was Enugu bound, had no vehicle registration number but just a tag of “LEV 043’’ laden with goods.

According to him, as the trailer failed the break, it rammed into some shops along the road and killed four traders instantly.

“As it continued moving; it hit a car close to a mechanic workshop with great impact and the three occupants of the said car were instantly trapped since it was an automatic vehicle.

“It took great intervention to get specialise equipment to free the three trapped occupants, who had given up the ghost already,’’ he said.

Kalu, however, urged the Agwu council authority to place a billboard of slow down to motorists at the junction, adding that fatal accidents had been often recorded at that junction.

“The community leaders in the area should advise and educate their people not to trade or build shops along the road in that junction in order to reduce human fatality.

“If that junction was free from human activities, maybe we might not have recorded any death in the first place,’’ he said.

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The sector commander called on motorists to usually slow down the speed of the vehicles in any human or socially built-up area of the expressway.

“It is unfortunate that the trailer might have been coming with high speed even in a seriously human built-up area of the Port Harcourt-Enugu Road as the Aki-na-Ukwa Junction,’’ he added.