By Straightnews
It was like a bad dream as a legal practitioner d!ed in an accident same day he deposited his mother’s corpse in a mortuary in Anambra State.
The man, identified as Okechukwu Ututu, died in a road accident along Awka axis of the Awka-Enugu Expressway on Sunday night, September 29, 2024.
It was gathered that his vehicle hit an abandoned stationary articulated truck on the road and somersaulted into a nearby drainage.
A kinsman of the victim who identified him told the Punch that the deceased had just deposited the remains of his late mother at the mortuary before the incident happened.
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“The incident happened along the expressway along the Awka axis. The deceased thought the truck was moving, but when he realised it wasn’t moving, it was too late; it wasn’t, as he hit it, and his car veered into the gutter,” he said.
“The lawyer had recently welcomed a newborn with his wife, whom he married in February this year. His sudden demise has left his loved ones in shock.
“He had just put his late mother in the mortuary and was preparing for the funeral. Now he’s joined her in the mortuary. The incident serves as a stark reminder of life’s unpredictable nature and the importance of cherishing every moment.
“It was an avoidable death caused by allowing abandoned vehicles to stay on the road longer than necessary. The stationery vehicle was in a dangerous position on the road, thereby, posing a serious danger to other road users.”
The victim’s remains have been deposited at the mortuary, at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka.
Other residents have criticised traffic officials, including the Federal Road Safety Corps, for allegedly allowing the abandoned truck to remain on the road longer than necessary without taking action to tow it away.
The Corps Commander, FRSC, Anambra State Command, Joyce Alexander, who confirmed the incident, commiserated with the family members of the victim, praying to God to comfort all of them and take care of the family he left behind.
Alexander said the abandoned truck could not be towed because of the load it was carrying, adding that she had directed the FRSC personnel to cordon off the scene with reflective tape.
“I am aware that he ran into a broken-down stationary truck. Unfortunately, this happened in the night and the FRSC rescue team that went for the rescue operation could not ascertain from any eyewitness what really happened,” he said.
“It was obviously not a tyre burst, as no tyre burst was observed. The only likely explanation is excessive speed, which might have led to loss of control. We arrived at this conclusion because of the skid marks and yeo marks trailing on the crash scene.
“I have also visited the scene to confirm the marks and the apparent struggle with the steering before the vehicle eventually tumbled. I did like to point out here that FRSC is not, and cannot be at every place
“And that’s why we solicit the collaboration and assistance of so many groups and individuals, the media included. That is also why we have the FRSC toll-free emergency number: 122. We rely on every member of society to alert us on crashes and obstructions.
“At another time, because the truck could not be towed due to the load it was carrying, I had directed my staff to cordon off the scene with reflective tapes to warn oncoming traffic in the night, pending when the truck could be offloaded and towed in the morning.”
