BY TIMOTHY AGBOR
There was pandemonium on Tuesday along the Rumuosi area of the East/West Road in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State after a trailer conveying goods crushed a two-year-old child to death.
The mother of the deceased baby and two other children were injured and rushed to a hospital.
Immediately after the crash, the driver of the trailer fled the scene for fear of being mobbed by residents and passers-by who were enraged by the development.
An eyewitness’ account revealed that the truck driver was on a high speed before he lost control of the vehicle when he approached the Rumuosi junction due to gridlock.
He said the driver was trying to avoid ramming into many people when it climbed the median, fell on one side and crushed the toddler in the process.
“You know this federal road always has traffic gridlock at the Rumuosi junction. The man (truck driver) was on speed and he could not apply the brake. So, what he did, because of the speed, was that he climbed the walk-over (median).
“If he went straight he would have crushed all those people by the side. So, he used his steering and climbed the walk-over. There were people too inside the walk-over, some mothers and children. As they heard the trailer lost control and people were shouting, they ran to one side, but the trailer now fell on the walk-over. All the goods it carried poured out. From there, the trailer fell on one side hitting the mother and the children. But, only the two-year-old boy died.”
Spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident and said investigation was ongoing.
“We are aware of the incident. It is very unfortunate. We are on the trail of the driver that ran away to ensure he is arrested. So investigation is ongoing to that effect,” she added.
