By Onyekachi Eze
Over the last month, the Onitsha/Owerri express road has become a death trap for motorists and passengers alike that statistics is gradually loosing count on the actual number of deaths on the ever busy highway.
Recently, another road mishap was reported at the Awo-Omamma section of the express road involving an ITC bus, a Conoil tanker, and a caterpillar claiming eight (8) lives while the only two (2) survivors were severely injured and receiving treatment in a nearby hospital.
According to an eye witness account, it was disclosed that the ITC bus and Conoil Tanker were traveling from Onitsha to Owerri when they rammed into the caterpillar running against traffic near Awo-Omamma General Hospital and Chinwendu Hospital.
The only two survivors were the bus driver, Mr Henry Opara from Amaulu Mbieri in Mbaitolu Imo State and Mr Nnamdi Okorie a student of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO). It was also revealed that Omumma Police Command made sure that the bodies were taken to the nearby mortuary for identification and collection by relatives while the automobiles were subsequently removed to the police station for further investigations.
Speaking to Weekend Trumpeta, Mr. Henry Opara, the victim and ITC driver lamented bitterly the ugly incident and thanked God for saving him and the boy, but categorically stated that what the witnesses said was exactly how it all happened. He charged the road safety corps to put in place strong and effective road safety rules as the accident happened basically on two anomalies: “The Caterpillar driver was driving against traffic in high speed and was on phone call, now he has sent souls to their untimely graves”, that was the cry of the driver at the hospital. He finally stated that tankers, trailers and trucks should be given road regulations and empowered to ensure safety on the highways as they have led to many loss of lives through road accidents.
