A five-year-old girl, her father and her uncle died in the early hours of the New Year after their vehicle rammed into a parked waste collection truck on the Obiri-Ikwerre flyover in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The victims, identified as Mr Ahmed, his daughter, Sheila, and his brother, Afiz, died after their vehicle rammed into a stationary waste collection truck allegedly parked without warning signs on the flyover shortly after crossover night.
According to report on Friday, a brother of the deceased, Engr. Amoo Ajiboye, blamed the tragedy on what he described as the indiscriminate parking of waste collection trucks on major roads in the state.
“It is so unfortunate that the waste collector truck parked at the Obiri Ikwerre flyover caused an accident. The truck was just stationed without a caution sign and my brother Ahmed rammed into it on crossover night/new year,” Ajiboye said.
He lamented that Ahmed’s daughter and brother died instantly at the scene, while Ahmed was rushed to hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
According to him, other occupants of the vehicle, including Ahmed’s wife, son and sister, sustained life-threatening injuries and are currently receiving treatment at a hospital, with some reportedly unconscious.
Ajiboye called on the Rivers State Government and relevant agencies to urgently investigate the incident, warning that similar acts of negligence have continued to claim lives across the state.
Ajiboye said, “We are appealing to the government to look critically into this matter. We are calling on the waste management agency to call their contractors to order and do their findings as this has taken so many lives.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said two of the victims died at the scene, while investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the crash.
She said “two persons died at the spot. Investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of the accident.”
Residents of the area expressed shock over the incident, describing the Obiri-Ikwerre flyover as a danger zone at night due to poor visibility and the presence of stationary heavy-duty vehicles.
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