Truck Crash Kills Ex-Filling Station Manager, Two Others in Onitsha

Three people, including a former filling station manager, were confirmed dead on Thursday morning after a truck carrying a container fell on tricycles along the Onitsha–Owerri Road in Anambra State.

According to a report by VANGUARD, the tragic crash, which occurred around 7:30 a.m. near the Mgbemena Junction, involved an articulated truck whose container slipped off and crushed three tricycles, trapping passengers beneath.

Eyewitnesses said the accident happened during the morning rush hour, when traders and commuters were heading to work.

At the time of filing this report, rescue operations had yet to begin, as angry sympathisers gathered at the scene, making bonfires and chanting anti-government songs to demand action.

According to an eyewitness identified as Ebuka, a tricycle operator who narrowly escaped the accident, the poor condition of the Onitsha–Owerri Road caused the crash.

“The road is very bad, so motorists now drive on one lane. The trailer was trying to manoeuvre through the bad spot when its container suddenly fell on the tricycles beside it,” he said.

“One of the victims was a former manager of Aris Filling Station who recently started operating Keke because of the economy. He was on this same road yesterday, but today he’s gone because the government ignored our cries to fix this road,” Ebuka added.

He said residents had repeatedly called into radio programmes such as Outside Arina on Brilla FM and Wazobia FM traffic shows, appealing to the state government to repair the road, but their pleas went unanswered.

Following the incident, tricycle operators withdrew their services and blocked the road, insisting that rescue operations must commence before they would reopen it to traffic.

Another eyewitness, Chinedu, also blamed the Anambra State Government for neglecting the busy highway.

“If they had repaired this road, people would not have died today. From Upper Iweka to Metallurgical Training Institute, the entire stretch is terrible. It’s only after lives are lost that they rush to act,” he said angrily.

He revealed that the deceased filling station manager’s wife and relatives later arrived at the scene in tears, as officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Okpoko Police Division began clearing the debris.

A towing truck was also deployed to the scene to lift the fallen container and aid in the rescue of the trapped victims.

VANGUARD