The Federal Road Safety Corps has attributed the accident involving the Anambra State Special Anti-Touting Squad and a dump truck in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state to road violations.
PUNCH Online reports that about four policemen from the Anambra State Special Anti-Touting Squad collided with a dump truck loaded with sand, killing one policeman and injuring others.
The accident involved three vehicles including a private Toyota Hummer bus with number plate “UWN763XA”, a state-owned Toyota Hummer bus with no number plate, and a Mercedes Benz dump truck.
The accident occurred on Friday near New Road Junction, Onitsha-Owerri road axis, Oba.
Our correspondent understands that the driver of the Toyota bus collided with the dump truck while exiting an intersection as part of a routine stop and search operation.
The Anambra State Sector Command Education Officer, Margaret Onabe, on Friday, said the cause of the accident was a head-on collision due to a road violation.
Onabe disclosed that the accident involved five adult males, four of whom died and one injured.
She said: “The rescue operation was carried out by anti-tout operatives from Anambra State. Currently, a Federal Road Safety Corps team is directing traffic and the crashed vehicle has been removed from the road to ensure smooth traffic flow.
“It is pertinent to note that the FRSC rescue team was initially prevented from carrying out their mission by an attack by local youths in the Oba area. They claimed that the accident was caused by certain people and insisted that they contact representatives of these people before carrying out the rescue. The team had no choice but to withdraw but returned after police and other troops arrived.
“The Sector Commander of Anambra State, Corps Commander Joyce Nennaya Alexander, expressed condolences to the families of the deceased victims.”
Onabe warned motorists against dangerous driving and route violations, especially on the highway.
She also appealed to the public to allow the FRSC teams to carry out rescue and roadblock clearance operations as any delay could result in loss of lives.
