Man killed in Abuja road accident

A man was killed on Friday evening after a coaster bus veered off the road and rammed into him while he was waiting to board a vehicle opposite Sky Memorial in Wuse, Abuja.

The victim was Henry Echi, a travel agent with Hinterland Travel, who hailed from Rivers State.

He was on official duty at the time of the incident, according to his colleague, Martha Nwakwo. Speaking in shock to a police officer at the scene, Ms Nwakwo said the deceased had been standing by the roadside, waiting for a bus, when the tragedy occurred.

The scene was gruesome. Images taken there showed one of the victim’s organs exposed and partially covered with documents he had been holding before the crash. The documents were scattered around the area.

Eyewitnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that the driver suddenly left his lane and sped into commuters waiting for buses.

“We don’t know whether his brakes failed, but many people could have died here today,” said Uba Abdullahi, a witness.

“People ran for safety, but the man was not lucky enough to escape,” he added.

Haruna Isah, deputy chairperson of the Long Bus Drivers under the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Wuse, said the driver had reported himself to the police at the Berger Police Post. The driver’s motorboy, who angry commuters had earlier surrounded, was also rescued by the police.

Police officers at the scene declined to comment, while officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) stated that they were not authorised to speak to the press. One of them noted that they were on patrol and stopped when they saw a crowd gathered.

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As of the time our reporter left the scene, FRSC operatives were preparing to remove the body.

The deceased’s phone was recovered from the scene and handed over to a police officer with the name tag, Daniel Joel.