By Raphael Ede Enugu
It was Christmas turned sour for some residents of Enugu, the Enugu state capital, when a truck crushed no fewer than 6 vehicles and a tricycle queuing for fuel at the NNPC Enugu Mega station, along Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.
In the process, four persons were reportedly killed with about 10 others sustaining varying degrees of injuries. The auto crash happened on Christmas Day at about 7.00 hours in the morning. But the Sector Commander, RS 9.1 Enugu, Federal Road Safety Corps, EA Zamber, who confirmed the incident, faulted the causality figure, stating that only one person died on the spot. However, the state
Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Vitus Okechi, who was on hand to ensure orderliness with personnel of the state traffic agency, told our correspondent who visited the scene on Tuesday, that four people died, with 10 others rushed to the hospital for urgent medical attention.
Lamenting the incident, Okechi, in an interview with our correspondent said,: “I equally don’t blame the truck driver because he didn’t know that vehicles queued in desperate quest for fuel along the road. “I plead with motorists to exercise some level of patience while trying to get fuel. A single mistake of one person can cost the lives of hundreds.
This incident was caused by the desperation to get fuel.” Meanwhile, a cross section of motorists in the state, blamed the ugly incident on alleged conspiracy of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) officials, who, according to him, refused to compel filling stations, to sell the product to members of the public at the official pump price.
He said the Enugu DPR officials were not living up to their responsibility, as they allegedly collected money from the independent marketers to perpetrate illegalities.
“Whenever we call them (DPR officials), they will promise coming over, but at the end they won’t. This means they have compromised and left the marketers to operate freely and perpetuate illegalities.”
Also in a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ebere Amaraizu, also said the incident claimed one life at the time of the receipt of the report. Providing further insight into the auto-crash, Amaraizu said, “on 25th December, 2017 at about 7am at Naira Triangle near NNPC Mega Fuel station, a trailer loaded with cattle, believed to be coming from the northern part of Nigeria and was heading towards Enugu/PortHarcourt Expressway, allegedly lost control and rammed into four motor cars and about four tricycles.
“It was further gathered that one of the occupants of one of the tricycles identified as one Mr. Okoye said to be travelling with his family to his home town for the Christmas and New Year Celebrations, died instantly and leaving others with various degrees of injuries.
” The PPRO said prompt intervention of police operatives from New Haven Division saved the day and prevented some aggrieved members of the public who had wanted to burn down the trailer with the entire cattle.
Meanwhile, those injured were promptly rushed to ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu, for medical attention while the corpse of Mr. Okoye had been deposited at the hospital Mortuary.
