6 injured as truck loses rear axle, tyres along Abuja-Keffi highway

Six persons, all males, sustained various degrees of injury on Monday morning, in an accident involving a 911 DAF truck on the busy Abuja-Keffi highway. The truck, with registration number ANC 312, which was carrying sacks of onions to the Orange market near Masaka in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, crashed into a […]

Six persons, all males, sustained various degrees of injury on Monday morning, in an accident involving a 911 DAF truck on the busy Abuja-Keffi highway.

The truck, with registration number ANC 312, which was carrying sacks of onions to the Orange market near Masaka in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, crashed into a deep gully at Sharp Corner u-turn after its rear axle and tyre came loose.

A witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the breaking off of the truck’s axle coupled with the momentum of the vehicle, forced the driver to lose control.

Another witness, Mr John Idika, a commercial motorcyclist, blamed the accident on the driver’s over-speeding and dangerous driving.

He added that the driver over-sped because traffic on that part of the highway was light but that deep potholes placed much pressure on the vehicle’s suspension causing the axle along with the rear tyres, to break off.

Idika further said he was convinced that it was in order to avoid ramming into commercial motorcyclists stationed at a junction nearby that the driver of the truck decided to crash the vehicle into the gully.

Another witness said, on condition of anonymity, that a mechanical fault could have been responsible for the accident.

He said before the crash and from the way the vehicle kept swerving from one side of the road to the other, it was obvious that the driver had lost control.

“I think the road safety and other relevant agencies should show more seriousness about the issue of road worthiness of vehicles,’’ he said.

Mr Lede Maxwell, the Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Nyanya, confirmed the number of casualties in the accident to NAN.

“A total of six persons were involved in the accident – all male – and two of the casualties were seriously injured and they have been transferred to the hospital, while the other four had minor injuries.

“Four of the casualties were passengers on the lorry, while the other two were okada riders at the junction, where the accident occurred.

He said that the two that were seriously injured were transferred to Nyanya General Hospital for treatment. (NAN)

Maxwell said that the hospital was able to admit one of the injured persons, while the second person was referred to the “Trauma Centre at the National Hospital, Abuja.

“The hospital officials said they cannot manage him, so he was referred to the National Hospital.

According to the unit commander, a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) had said that the truck involved in the accident was known to operators at the Orange Market.

He said investigation would continue as the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, promised to visit the FRSC office in Nyanya along with the union’s chairman and the driver of the vehicle. (NAN)