By Izunna Okafor, Awka
A traffic official attached to the Anambra Road Traffic Management Agency (ARTMA) has reportedly died after a trailer ran over an enforcement vehicle during a road traffic operation.
The incident, which happened along the Nteje–Awka Road, near Igbariam Junction, on Wednesday, was confirmed in a statement issued by the Sector Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State, Margaret Onabe, who described the crash as a fatal one involving four male occupants.
According to the statement, the FRSC Nteje Unit Command received a distress call at about 2:45 p.m. and deployed a rescue team that arrived at the scene within five minutes. The crash, it was gathered, involved a red Sino trailer belonging to Coca-Cola and an ash Daihatsu Hijet bus used by ARTMA officials.
The trailer, however, reportedly lost control while attempting to manoeuvre the road, struck the enforcement vehicle and dragged it into a roadside gutter, trapping the officers inside.
Eyewitness accounts cited in the FRSC statement indicated that the ARTMA officials had stopped to arrest owner of a vehicle that appeared improperly parked but later discovered that it had tyre problems. However, one of the officers left to get a vulcanizer, shortly after which a trailer rammed into the bus while trying to maneuver.
“The cause of the fatal crash was attributed to a loss of control of the trailer.
“According to eyewitnesses, the ARTMA bus stopped to arrest a vehicle that was parking on the road. Upon getting close, they discovered it was having tyre issues, so one of them left to get a vulcanizer for it.
“The Sino truck was attempting to maneuver when one of its tyres caught up with the bus and dragged it into the gutter, trapping the bus under the trailer,” the statement partly read.
Of the four men involved in the crash, one ARTMA personnel sustained injuries and received immediate first aid before being taken to the hospital, while another enforcement officer was confirmed dead. The remaining two individuals were reportedly rescued unharmed.
According to the statement, the FRSC rescue team extricated the victims, evacuated the injured to Chira Hospital in Awkuzu for emergency care, and deposited the deceased at Jerusalem Hospital, Nteje. An RCC crane was later deployed to lift the truck and clear the obstruction, restoring normal traffic flow along the expressway.
The statement also indicated that the Sector Commander, Corps Commander Bridget Asekhauno, visited the scene in company of the Corridor 5 Commander and the Nteje Unit Commander. She expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and wished the injured officer a speedy recovery, noting that the tragedy reinforces the need for drivers to maintain full control of their vehicles, avoid dangerous manoeuvres, and keep to prescribed speed limits.
She added that the Command remains committed to saving lives, enforcing traffic laws, and intensifying public education to prevent similar occurrences on Anambra roads.
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