Tragedy struck on Monday when a garbage truck crushed a man and injured four others after a brake failure along the Rumuigbo axis of Ikwerre Road in the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the victims were people around the vicinity of the accident.
The incident, which eyewitnesses said occurred around 1am on Monday, reportedly shattered the serenity of the community.
A man, who did not identify himself, stated, “Around 1am, the truck lost balance, fell off the road and rammed into some persons. One of them (victims) was here this morning. He had injuries on his head and leg. He said he was looking for someone. That was when we looked under the truck and saw the missing person under the truck.”
A female resident, who gave her name as Lilian, said she was attracted to the scene by the sound of the crash.
“I saw four people on the ground; they were later taken to a clinic. We didn’t know of the person under the truck. It was this morning we saw the dead body,” she stated while fighting back tears.
The Sector Head of Operations, Federal Road Safety Corps, Rivers State, Chukwuma Nbaegbu, confirmed the incident.
Nbaegbu, however, said by the time officials of the corps got to the scene, the victims had been taken away.
“When we got the information around past 11am, we called our patrol team that was close to the scene. They went there not up to 30 minutes, but there was nobody there. They tried to find out from nearby persons on number of casualties, but they could not get such information.
“Right now, we don’t have comprehensive information as per the nature and number of casualties,” he stated.
The acting spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident.
Iringe-Koko, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said, “The driver that killed the man fled. We are investigating and we will ensure he is arrested.”
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