At most three persons have died, leaving seven others injured in a deadly auto crash near Onitsha Head Bridge in Anambra State on Friday, 28 October.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in the state, Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Awka, reported that the accident happened at about 10:00 am in the morning.
It has been found that the accident was caused by a brake failure, mechanical fault, and loss of control.
According to Irelewuyi, a blue commercial truck with registration number: LSD697YD and a blue and white Mitsubishi L300 commercial bus with registration number: LEH596XA had collided.
An eyewitness report had it that the truck had developed a fault and broke down on the bridge. When the driver saw a tow truck towing another vehicle out of the bridge, he figured that the tow truck would come back later to tow his vehicle.
“In a bid to avoid his car being towed away, he quickly moved his vehicle without fixing the mechanical defect. His car brake then failed, and the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed into three pedestrians walking down the bridge.”
“The vehicle then collided with a commercial bus and crashed. That was when the truck driver abandoned his vehicle and took to his heels.”
Two male adults and a female adult were confirmed dead on arrival by the doctor on duty, and their corpses have been deposited at the hospital morgue.
Meanwhile the seven injured victims are currently receiving treatment at Toronto Hospital, which was the closest hospital nearby.