It was gathered from eyewitnesses that the accident occurred at Ogbelaka Junction, when a tipper, loaded with sand, collided with two minibuses, which were conveying commuters.
But for divine intervention, the eyewitnesses said that the fatality number would have been more as the Bureau de Change operators, along the axis by Erie Junction, had to scamper for safety, when vehicles, trying to avoid the scene, almost crushed them.
According to the account of the eyewitnesses, the tipper van involved in the accident was trying to overtake another tipper, but lost control and collided with the two minibuses, killing many of the commuters on the spot.
A sister-in-law of one of the deceased, who gave her name as Agnes agonizingly said her late sister-in-law, was taking care of her mother at the EdoSpecialist Hospital,but this morning,the woman went home to shower and change ,but on the way the accident happened. She was rushed to the same hospital, but was not attended to.
“My sister-in-law, who is taking care of my sick mother, just went to shower and change when the incident happened,she was brought to this place, but was not taken care.” She said.
The accident caused traffic jam as the exit routes to Asoro Street, Eri and Ogbelaka were completely blocked, leaving commuters to trek long distances to their destinations.
While witnesses claimed to have counted nine corpses at the scene, the Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer,Bello Kontongs, when contacted, said only four persons died in the accident.
“It involved a truck coming from upper Sakponba that lost control and ran into a white bus killing three people on the spot while one died on the way to the hospital. The injured victims have been rushed to the hospital for treatment,” Kontongs volunteered
