A fatal collision between a Toyota bus and an unregistered Mack tanker claimed eight lives and injured six others on Sunday night along the Nteje-Awka Road in Anambra State. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander Joyce Alexander confirmed the incident, attributing the crash to speeding and reckless overtaking by the bus driver, who was en route from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, to Onitsha.
Preliminary investigations revealed the bus collided head-on with the tanker, which was traveling toward Awka on the single-lane highway. The crash resulted in four male and four female fatalities, while two men and four women sustained injuries. Rescue teams transported the injured to Regina Caeli Hospital and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital in Awka, with the deceased deposited at Jerusalem Mortuary, Nteje.
Alexander visited survivors and met with petroleum transport unions to strategize on accident prevention, urging drivers to adhere to speed limits and avoid dangerous maneuvers. The tragedy adds to a spike in road fatalities linked to speeding across Nigeria. Recent incidents include six deaths in Enugu (February), seven in Ebonyi (April), and eight in Edo (March), where brake failure caused a truck to plow into traffic. The FRSC reiterated calls for stricter compliance with traffic regulations to curb avoidable crashes.
