In a devastating incident, about 15 people have reportedly lost their lives, and many others were injured after a truck crashed into four buses at the Imo State University (IMSU) junction in Owerri, the state capital. The tragic event occurred on Saturday evening due to a brake failure in the Ugwu-Orji area.
Eyewitnesses recounted the harrowing scene, describing how the truck, laden with stones and traveling at high speed, failed to stop at the IMSU junction. “I witnessed the incident with my own eyes. The trailer was carrying stones and was driving at a high speed when it failed to stop at the IMSU junction,” a witness said.
The truck veered into the opposite lane in an attempt to avoid hitting passengers and mini-buses at the junction, colliding with more than four small buses filled with passengers. “I am very sure that 15 people died at the spot, while several others who sustained various degrees of injuries were rushed to the hospital. It was terrible,” the witness added.
Compounding the tragedy, another witness reported a lack of immediate response from security personnel. “I was surprised that for more than one hour after the accident, the police that always mount roadblocks and even officers of the Nigeria Civil Defense Corps, whose state office is near the junction, never showed up to help out,” he said. Instead, it was compassionate individuals and drivers who took it upon themselves to transport the victims to the hospital and morgue.
Criticism has been directed at the government for the apparent absence of an emergency response team. “Does it mean that the government no longer has an emergency response team whose duty it is to offer immediate help to accident victims? If there was such a person to attend to the victims, the situation could have been remedied. It is unfortunate,” a witness lamented.
