9 Perish In Onne Auto-Clash

Nine persons have lost their lives in an auto-accident along Onne-Eleme Road in Port Harcourt.

The incident which claimed the lives of six female and three males occurred at 9.30, Monday when black infinity jeep with no registered number, driven from Onne axis skipped off the road and brushed some people sitting in a make shift canteen.

However, four males who were seriously wounded in the incident were quickly taken to Teme Clinic to undergo treatment.

According to an eye witness, the driver of the vehicle, having seen the magnitude of the causalities quickly escaped.

 When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers State Command, Dr Rita Inoma-Abbey, confirmed the incident and described it as  very pathetic.

She enjoined motorists to be more cautious when plying the road, while passengers should also be vigilant to notice when a vehicle begins to get out of control

Meanwhile, no fewer than 98 persons lost their lives in various road crashes in Delta between  January and April, according to the Federal Road Safety Commission  (FRSC).

This is contained in the commission’s accident statistics released to newsmen in Asaba, yesterday.

The statistics also showed that 251 persons were injured in the 130 auto-accidents that occurred across the state within the period.

In March, 155 casualties was recorded with 48 killed and 107 injured. In January, 115 casualties with 11 killed and 104 injured. While in February, 39 persons were killed and 40 persons injured.

Meanwhile, Mr Luka Ikpi, the Sector Commander in Delta, has attributed the increase in road accident in the state to the “I don’t care attitude of some drivers in the state”.

Ikpi said that some motorists were driving  without taking necessary precautions, adding that ‘’accidents don’t just happen, but are caused’’.