PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident occurred on Monday when an unidentified tricycle driver who plied ‘one-way’ suddenly collided with the tanker which was on its normal route.
The tanker driver was said to have claimed that he did not even see the tricycle as it suddenly rammed into his tanker at an obscured portion before the Tomatoes Market.
Consequently, the tricycle was hit and crushed under another tanker parked by the roadside.
An eyewitness who would not want his name mentioned blamed the tricyclist and lamented that he had defied traffic rule by plying ‘one-way’ on the ever-busy road, instead of going a distance further to make a U-turn at the designated point.
Reacting to the incident, some commuters and traders around the market called on the Federal Road Safety authorities and the Delta State government to set up a task force to checkmate motorists from plying ‘one-way’, and the indiscriminate parking of tankers along express roads, especially around the Tomatoes Market area.
Also, some commuters considered the parking of tankers along the Warri-Sapele Road as a major cause for concern.
Mr Udo Ifechukwu who witnessed the accident noted that some of the tankers parked along the road at the market area had conveyed tomatoes, onions and other commodities loaded on their tops to the market.
He however said that “after offloading the goods, the tankers are supposed to leave the arena but they don’t. These are fuel tankers. They shouldn’t be here even if they are empty”.
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