Eight people have been confirmed dead, while two others were injured in an accident involving a loaded trailer and a Sharon Volkswagen vehicle along the Bende-Ohafia Road in Abia State.
The accident happened on Sunday according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
According to an eyewitness, the accident occurred when the vehicle developed a brake problem while descending Mmuri Hill on its way to Ohafia from Umuahia, the capital of Abia State.
“Unfortunately, the driver lost control of the vehicle, and it struck the car, which was coming from the opposite direction and fell on it,” the witness said.
The witness partly blamed the accident on “the deplorable condition of the road,” questioning, “Why has the federal government failed to rehabilitate the road?”
However, the Abia Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in a statement issued on Monday by the Sector Commander, Mrs. Ngozi Ezeoma, said the crash involved a trailer carrying chippings that hit and fell on a Sharon Volkswagen vehicle with 10 persons on board.
According to the FRSC, the crash occurred along the Mmuri River axis of the road in Ohafia Local Government Area of the state.
“At the time of the crash, eight persons had died including a woman standing by the roadside and three were injured.
“The injured victims were taken to the hospital while the dead ones were deposited at the morgue,” she said.
Ezeoma also said that preliminary investigations revealed that the crash was caused by dangerous driving and excessive speeding.