One killed as car rams into petrol tanker

An unidentified man lost his life on Sunday night in a fatal road accident along the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway.

The victim was the lone occupant of a Honda Salon car with registration number Lagos AM 183 KRD, which rammed into an empty stationary petrol tanker along the expressway at about 7.30pm.

It took efforts from residents and passersby, to free the man from the mangled vehicle.

PUNCH Metro learnt that a Good Samaritan rushed the man to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital with the hope that he would be revived because he seemed lifeless at the scene.

An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Peter, told our correspondent on Monday that the driver was on high-speed and did not see the stationary tanker on the expressway.

Peter said, “The driver’s vision must have been affected by the headlamps of oncoming vehicles. The faulty petrol tanker has been on the same spot for the past four days.

“The owner did not care to tow it away from here. Now that it has claim

ed a life.”

Another eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, explained that a Customs officer drove to the scene and took the deceased to UPTH.

He expressed fear that considering the seriousness of the accident, it was not likely that the victim would have been revived.

However, an official of the Rivers State Traffic Management Authority, who was at the scene, explained that the driver must have been on high-speed when the accident happened.

The TIMARIV official stated that caution signs were placed near the tanker, but expressed surprise that the driver did not notice the tanker on time.

Contacted to speak on the accident, the State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, said he was in Lagos

for an official assignment.