A lawyer identified as Okechukwu was killed in a tragic road accident along the Awka-Enugu Expressway on Sunday night, shortly after depositing the remains of his late mother at a local morgue.
According to reports, Okechukwu’s vehicle collided with an abandoned articulated truck on the expressway, causing his car to somersault and land in a nearby drainage. A relative of the deceased, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed that Okechukwu mistakenly believed the truck was in motion. By the time he realized it was stationary, it was too late to avoid the crash.
“The deceased had just deposited his mother’s body in the mortuary and was returning when the tragedy occurred,” the kinsman said. “He thought the truck was moving, but it was abandoned. He hit it and the car veered into the gutter.”
The lawyer, who recently welcomed a newborn with his wife after their wedding in February, had been preparing for his mother’s funeral. His sudden death has left his family and friends devastated. “He had just put his mother in the mortuary, and now he has joined her there. It’s heartbreaking,” the relative added.
Many residents have expressed anger over the abandoned truck, accusing traffic officials of negligence for not towing it away. The stationary vehicle, they argued, had been left on the road for an extended period, posing a serious risk to other motorists.
In response, the Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State, Joyce Alexander, offered condolences to the bereaved family and explained the challenges involved in removing the truck. She stated that the vehicle could not be towed earlier due to the heavy load it was carrying. However, she said efforts were made to mark the scene with reflective tape to warn drivers of the obstruction.
“I am aware that the deceased ran into a broken-down stationary truck,” Alexander said. “While no eyewitnesses could confirm exactly what happened, we suspect excessive speed may have caused the crash based on skid marks at the scene.”
She added, “The FRSC cannot be everywhere at once, and that’s why we encourage the public to alert us to road obstructions by using our toll-free number: 122.”
The deceased’s remains have been deposited at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital morgue in Awka, where he was confirmed dead after the crash. Authorities have promised to investigate the incident further and remove the abandoned truck as soon as possible.
