Two separate road incidents on the busy Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway have thrown the city of Enugu into mourning on Wednesday after two cement-laden trucks claimed 10 lives and left 10 others hospitalized.
According to reports, among the victims was an entire family whose car was crushed beyond recognition in one of the accidents that occurred at the Four Corner Junction area of Ozalla.
A video of the wreckage, now trending on social media, has sparked widespread outrage and calls for stricter regulation of heavy-duty trucks on Nigerian highways.
Confirming the incidents, the Enugu Police Command said the first crash occurred around 9 a.m. when a Howo truck, inscribed Visco Investment Global and carrying cement from Aba to Abuja, collided with a Toyota Corolla that was attempting to overtake another vehicle.
A Foton bus and a Daihatsu Hijet mini bus, both driving one-way, were also caught in the collision.
The impact caused a fire that engulfed the Corolla, killing all five occupants.
One passenger in the mini bus was also confirmed dead on the spot, the police said.
Barely hours later, around 3 p.m., tragedy struck again on the same expressway when a Sino truck belonging to Global Investment and also laden with cement rammed into a tricycle.
The truck, said to be driving against traffic, crushed the tricycle and its four occupants, who later died in hospital.
Police spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said 10 other persons injured in the two crashes were rushed to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, where they are receiving treatment.
The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, described the accidents as “avoidable,” mourning the victims and extending condolences to their families.
He directed the State Motor Traffic Department to launch a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crashes.
The PPRO quoted Giwa to have said that: “Drivers must understand that no journey is worth a single life. Recklessness and disregard for traffic rules are recipes for disaster. As we enter the Ember months, I urge motorists to exercise utmost caution.”
