Despite several warnings by the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) against unguarded speed, motorists ignore such warning, a development that led to a tragedy in Abakiliki last week. EGWUAGHA AMARACHUKWU reports on the circumstances surrounding the ghastly crash that claimed the lives of two persons.
Chimaco (also known as Brain Work) a welder, whose workshop is located opposite the popular Crunches along Afikpo road in Abakaliki, capital city of Ebonyi state last week Wednesday, met his untimely death, a development that threw many people including his staff and immediate family members into deep grief especially the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to report, Brain Work, as he was popularly called, left his workshop and his workers that fateful evening to attend to an important engagement within the town, unfortunately could not get back to his house that night as he got involved in a ghastly accident that claimed his life. More worrisome was that his vehicle went into flames for which his corpse was completely burnt beyond recognition.
Eye-witness accounts
An eye witness account said he ran into an articulated vehicle along Abakaliki/Enugu Expressway when his Honda brand of vehicle with registration number APP -607AR caught fire and he was born to ashes leaving only relics of his burnt bones in the car.
The articulated vehicle was said to have offloaded its content which is oil deposit at Calabar and was on its way to Enugu state when, along the line, it developed a fault at the busy Sperindo Junction in Abakaliki town. The driver of the tanker, according to report, sought a safe place and pulled by the side in order to check the fault on the vehicle. This is along the Enugu /Abakaliki Expressway a few steps off the gate of LOPA Gas plant.
Blueprint gathered that as soon as he stepped out to examine his vehicle believing that he had pulled off the main road, the vehicle of the late Mr Chimaco ran him down with his Honda car and went straight to the articulated vehicle. Immediately, the Honda car caught fire which also inflamed the tanker even though it was believed to be empty a great deal.
However, the tanker driver whose identity as of the time of this report could not be ascertained was rushed to the hospital but later gave up the ghost on Thursday morning, according to report.
When Blueprint visited the scene of the accident to undertake an on-the-spot assessment, an eye witness said, “My name is Obinna Anene Henry, the tanker driver pulled aside in order to check the fault in his articulated vehicle. I watched him as he came down to place the caution sign on the road; in that process, the small car knocked him down and ran into the tanker and thereafter caught fire. The driver of the articulated vehicle died instantly that was why he couldn’t help himself and the small car was burnt with its driver inside it. The conductor of the tanker ran out with a flame on his leg and he ran with it but somebody answered a call and said the conductor died this morning.”
Another person who spoke but refuse to give his name said, “The articulated vehicle had off loaded its content at Calabar and was on its way to Enugu state when the driver detected a fault at Sperindo Junction and was looking for a safer place to stop and check what was wrong with the vehicle before this accident happened.”
Also an elderly man called OJ said, “We saw the articulated vehicle; it was as if the tyre busted and he was looking for a comfortable place to pack. As soon as the driver came out and bent down to check the tyre, within three seconds, a small vehicle came and knocked him down before we could come out to assist, the vehicle caught fire. It was some tricycle riders around that helped in rescuing the others from the articulated vehicle who were also affected before they were taken to the hospital before the police and fire service personnel arrived and put out the fire. What was brought out of the small vehicle was a very small particle which they said was the remains of the driver of the car. We equally learnt that the driver of the tanker died this morning.”
Another eyewitness who said he participated in rescuing the tanker driver maintained that the driver of the articulated truck was trying to put caution sign when the Honda driver hit him into the tanker.
His workers identified his vehicle
Furthermore, some group of boys who ran to the scene of the accident on Thursday morning broke into tears as they recognised the Honda car to be that of their master. Although it was a bit difficult to get them to talk, one of them who managed to speak with Blueprint said, “I know his vehicle very well; the plate number belongs to him, this is his car,” he said.
“We were all together till 6 pm yesterday as we normally close work by 6:20pm. He gave us our feeding money and said he was rushing to somewhere; he didn’t stay for roll call only for us to come out this morning without seeing him. We went to his house and found out that he did not come back home last night.
The wife has been calling his number but was not reachable and we have tried the number too, but unreachable.
“So when we got the news of a burnt car along this expressway, we decided to come and check, and behold, it is our oga’s vehicle; our master’s car was the one that got burnt and we believe he is the one that was burnt to ashes. His name is Chimaco but known as Brain Work. He lives at Umuogharu Ezza North LGA,” he said in tears.
Another eyewitness who said he knew the welder said, “When I was going for school run this morning, I saw the accident; I stopped and called somebody I suspected may be involved in the accident but he picked and said the vehicle was not his, but when I saw these people crying, I recognised one of them to be working for a welder at Afikpo road.”
Confirming the accident, the head of Operations, Ebony state Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr Charlie Eden, said they had redeployed officers to cordon of the place. “We are making arrangements to remove the vehicles from the road to avoid more accident on the road.
“Only the driver of the Honda motor was burnt beyond recognition but the driver of the articulated vehicle who was under the tanker working on his vehicle was saved but was in critical condition. He was apparently unaware that the man had died as information from the Alex Ekwueme Teaching Hospital where the driver was taken to for treatment said he died Thursday morning. He however blamed the crash on over speeding and carelessness on the part of the late Honda driver whom he said may have been under a certain influence.
