Dark Friday as truck crushes many in Abuja

 

Several persons, including a soldier yesterday lost their lives in a fatal accident involving a trailer belonging to Zeberced Limited on Abuja-Keffi expressway in Abuja.

The accident, which occurred at about 10:30am, was said to have been as a result of failed brakes on the side of the truck.
The driver was descending the Kugbo Hills when he realised that his brake system had failed.

Nyanya Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Michael Arinzeagu, who confirmed the incident to newsmen shortly after the incident, said: “There was a minor crash earlier between two motorists who were unable to settle themselves peacefully. They parked and were claiming rights. In the course of the argument, a soldier on a motorcycle stopped and tried to make peace among them. Before then, the traffic had built up.

“While the soldier was trying to make peace, the Zeberced truck that had already failed brakes, was descending the Kugbo Hills.

“It was obvious that he couldn’t control the vehicle anymore and instead of heading to a nearby ditch to stop the truck, he took the wrong decision of using people and vehicles as break. It was catastrophic because innocent lives were lost and vehicles destroyed.”
Continuing, he said: “As the driver could not control the vehicle again, he crushed other vehicles along the way. Unfortunately, the soldier that was trying to make peace and many others were crushed by the truck.”

When asked on the number of people that died, the FRSC official said: “We could not give exact number of people that died because we were busy trying to rescue those that were still alive.

“We are yet to visit the hospitals where they were taken to. But we counted 19 vehicles, including the Abuja high capacity bus (El-Rufai Bus) and several other expensive vehicles that were damaged.”

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