One die, seven injured in cross river road accident

Road accident: An unidentified woman was feared dead while seven others sustained injuries when a truck loaded with plantain and sweet potatoes skidded off the Idomi Road in the Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State.

The news we got on Sunday revealed that the road accident, which was said to have happened late Friday, caused traffic jam along the narrow Idomi Road on Saturday.

Motorists plying the Calabar-Ugep-Ikom road have in the last few weeks been compelled to pass through the Idomi Road from the Adim axis in Biase LGA due to a failed portion that had been under construction for over two years.

A resident of Adim, Mrs. Evelyn Edodi, said those injured were taken to the hospital by residents of the area.

She said, “We were in our compound relaxing when a driver of a Toyota Hilux came to inform us that an accident has occurred along the Idomi Road. He said it was beginning to cause traffic.

“We rushed to the scene and unfortunately a woman (unidentified) died on the spot, while seven other persons sustained serious injuries. We immediately evacuated those that were injured from the accident scene to the General Hospital at Ugep for treatment. This was at about 10p.m.”

The corpse of the unidentified woman, who was suspected to be a trader, was taken to the mortuary by a team of policemen.

Meanwhile, aggrieved residents of Adim have blamed the Federal Government for the delay in fixing the bad portion of the road for years.

Another resident of Adim, Bassey Esu, said youths in the community had made desperate attempts to fill a portion of the failed road but had been halted by security agents.

Esu said, “Just on Saturday morning, some youths who were trying to repair the road were dispersed by policemen. In fact, the policemen shot into the air and forcefully collected the money that the youths got from motorists who appreciated what they were doing. This is most unfair.

“If the government was responsible, they would have fixed this bad portion that has been there for several years. A contracting firm is currently working on it, but how long will it take to address a bad portion that is less than 500 metres?” he queried.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer in charge of the state command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Godsgift Uwen, confirmed the accident

“Yes, the accident happened. Our advice this period is for people to adhere to simple traffic rules. Our operations this season is more of being proactive especially as we approach the ember months. The Sector Commander, Mr. Chidiebere Nkwonta, has taken measures to ensure that drivers were properly briefed at motor parks this period,” he said.

Credit: Punch Newspaper