30 escapes death in Ebonyi auto crash

No fewer than 30 persons yesterday escaped death in an accident that occurred at the boundary between Enugu and Ebonyi state expressway.

An eyewitness who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, said the accident occurred when the driver of an 18-seater bus travelling from Abakaliki to Enugu tried to avoid a police checkpoint and collided with another Hiace bus returning from Enugu.

Another eyewitness, Rev. Fr Stephen Nnorom of the Catholic Diocese of Buya Cameroon who was among those that rescued the victims and conveyed them to hospitals, described the accident as tragic and regretted the attitude of some sympathizers who could not volunteer their vehicles to evacuate the victims to hospitals.

He advised motorists to always obey law enforcement agencies at the road to avert road accidents.

Two other eyewitnesses, Mr. Chinonso Okeke and Mr. Ifeanyi Igwe blamed the police at the checkpoint for the accident and explained that it would have been prevented if the two drivers were patient.

On his part, Mr. Chukwudi Maduabuchi disassociated the police from the accident but blamed the drivers for their recklessness.

In a swift reaction, a federal road safety special marshal, Macks Nnaji

who assisted in rescuing the victims said the accident was caused as a result of the road block.‎

He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that the ban on all road blocks was implemented in the south east region.