One killed, three seriously injured in Katsina highway auto crashes

One person was killed, and two others were seriously injured in two auto accidents that occurred hours apart on Sunday on the Dayi–Malumfashi road in Katsina State.

When a PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the scenes near Ketare junction and Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Gora, a crushed commercial vehicle lay trapped beneath a livestock trailer while sacks of agricultural produce spilt across the highway from a separate crash nearby.

The two accidents occurred less than a kilometre apart around Gora, a stretch of the highway residents say has deteriorated badly in recent months.

Fatal crash at Ketare junction

The first accident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. at Ketare junction in Gora.

A heavy-duty trailer painted blue and red and bearing the inscription “SABO DA MAZA” was transporting livestock, including cows and sheep, to Lagos when the crash occurred.

The truck driver told this reporter that another vehicle attempting to overtake forced him to veer off the road to avoid a head-on collision with oncoming traffic.

A white cab-over commercial vehicle branded “CARROZZERIA FERRARI” also swerved while attempting to avoid the incident, but rammed into the trailer.

The driver of the smaller vehicle, identified by witnesses as a resident of Malumfashi, died instantly as the cabin of the vehicle was severely crushed beneath the trailer.

Witnesses said some animals being transported in the trailer also died in the crash.

The truck drivers said they were waiting for another truck to arrive to evacuate the livestock and other cargo that spilt during the accident.

Second crash near GDSS Gora

Several hours later, at about 10:30 a.m., another accident occurred less than 200 metres from Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Gora, roughly one kilometre from the earlier crash site.

Witnesses said a Honda Accord with registration number ABJ-563EG swerved while trying to avoid a pothole on the highway and collided with an IVECO EuroTrakker truck transporting tiger nuts and dates towards Funtua.

The impact caused the truck’s cargo to spill onto the highway.

Two occupants of the Honda Accord sustained serious injuries, according to eyewitnesses.

One of the victims had his hand badly injured as he waited under a nearby tree for relatives arriving from Jibia to take him for treatment.

FRSC deploys personnel

The spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Katsina State, Shamsu Babajo, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that officers had been deployed to the accident scenes.

Mr Babajo said the agency was assisting in clearing the wreckage and spilled cargo from the highway.

Residents and commuters who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES blamed the accidents partly on the poor condition of the road, particularly around the GDSS Gora axis, where deep potholes force motorists to suddenly swerve into oncoming traffic.

A PREMIUM TIMES reporter who visited the area observed several large potholes along the stretch of highway where the second crash occurred.