From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Three people have been confirmed dead as a result of an accident involving a Volkswagen Golf and a Tipper, along the Evwreni axis of the East West road, in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Another victim sustained severe injuries in the crash which occurred at the weekend.
Ughelli Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ikechukwu Okwo, who confirmed the incident, yesterday, said the unit received a distressed call about a crash along Ughelli/Patani road, and swiftly dispatched a team of rescue officers and marshals to the scene.
“The three people were carried to the General Hospital where the doctor confirmed them dead. One of the victims was rescued alive and taken to the hospital. So, at the end, we have three dead and one injured,” he said.
Okwo attributed the accident to speed violation, pointing that speed violation was one of the common causes of a crash. He advised commuters to use a common sense speed limit when plying the roads, especially during this festive period when there will be much vehicular movements on the roads, adding that transporters must also avoid overload when using the roads.
A witness, who simply identified himself as Edafe, explained that both the Tipper and the Golf were coming from the same direction. He said due to the traffic along their lane, the golf driver tried to beat the traffic when it saw an upcoming vehicle in the opposite direction, adding that it was in the process of trying to avoid the opposite vehicle that the driver swung back to its lane with the speed it was moving and hit the tipper on the traffic.
“I was coming with my passenger between Unenurhe and Evwreni when I saw the hold up, I came down to see what was happening, then I saw the accident, some of them were shouting for help, two people ought to have survived, then I dropped my passenger and rescued only one person. That is the one in Calvary Hospital. And, also, the speed at which they were driving was too much, that was how the accident happened.
“When I got to the hospital, the workers detained me and said I was not going to leave the place because I was the only one they knew. I tried to call the people on phone, but it was the other man who could have survived whom I left that had the phone and his people came and rescued me.
“The tipper was coming from Ughelli to Bayelsa while the car was coming from Ughelli to Uwherun, both were coming on the same lane. The second side of the road was blocked and they were using one lane, maybe he wanted to overtake the tipper, but when he saw another car coming, he now hit the front tire of the tipper,” he said.
