Five people, including two children, were confirmed dead in a tragic auto crash on Sunday involving an Abia Line Network Sienna vehicle and a Mack truck near the Umuikaa Junction along the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway.
The Sienna was traveling from Abakaliki in Ebonyi State to Aba in Abia State when the accident occurred.
According to the PUNCH, the Abia State Police Command and the Federal Road Safety Corps confirmed the casualty figures during a press briefing on Monday.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Maureen Chinaka, reported that the incident had been documented and that an investigation was underway.
The Sector Commander of FRSC in Abia State, Mrs. Ngozi Ezeoma, clarified in a press statement issued by Assistant Route Commander C. M. Enyioko that five people, not eleven as initially reported, lost their lives in the crash.
The accident occurred at Egbelu Mbutu, near the Cherubim bus stop in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, on August 11, 2024, at approximately 1:45 p.m.
According to the FRSC, the crash involved a Toyota Previa with registration number BKL 291 ZJ, which collided with an unnumbered stationary Mack truck. The collision involved eleven people—six male adults, two female adults, and three male children.
Four victims (two male adults and two male children) died at the scene, while three others sustained injuries. The FRSC rescue team from RS9.32 KM78 Aba Unit Command arrived within 10 minutes and transported the injured victims to Ronald Hospital in Umuikaa. The deceased were taken to Mighty Moon Mortuary near the Umuikaa Junction.
A follow-up by the FRSC on Monday morning revealed that one of the injured male adults later died in the hospital, raising the death toll to five (three male adults and two male children). The remaining wounded victims, one male, and one female, are receiving treatment, with the male patient transferred to the Federal Medical Centre in Umuahia for further care.
Three adults and one child survived the crash without injuries, and the child has been handed over to the Umuikaa Police Station.
Preliminary investigations suggest that fatigue may have been a factor in the crash, with further details to be provided following the completion of the FRSC’s investigation.
