A tragic incident claimed the lives of three people, including a lawyer, and left several others injured when a flour-loaded truck, being pursued by military personnel, crashed into shops at Utu Etim Ekpo, the headquarters of Etim Ekpo Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, News360 Nigeria reports.

Eyewitnesses reported that the accident occurred around 8 p.m. on Monday. The chase ensued after the truck driver allegedly refused to stop at a military checkpoint at Nkwot Ikot Ebo on the Iwukem-Etim Ekpo-Abak Road.

Eno Umanah, a motorcyclist who witnessed the scene, recounted that the truck, traveling from Iwukem towards Abak, sped past the soldiers’ roadblock, prompting a pursuit by the military patrol team. The high-speed chase ended in disaster as the truck veered off the road and crashed into nearby shops, leading to the fatalities and extensive damage.

“The soldiers pursued and overtook the truck, but the driver still refused to stop, speeding towards them. The soldiers scampered for safety, as the truck continued on speed, descending the slope towards the roundabout, and it was impossible to navigate safely at that speed, and the driver lost control and veered off the road, crashing into a line of makeshift shops by the motor park and killed the unsuspecting victims. The lawyer’s name is still been withheld.”

Another resident in the area, Akaninyene Umanah, alleged that several lives, including a group of worshippers returning from a church convention, have been killed on the road, with residents blaming the alarming fatalities on poor construction of the roundabout in the area.

A civil engineer described the spot as having “poor and irregular road alignment by the contractors,” accusing a prominent politician in Etim Ekpo of colluding with government officials to compromise the original road design during its construction years back.

“I talked about that roundabout years ago, and I was accused of insulting elders of Etim Ekpo.
That structure needed to be removed from that spot or a proper roundabout reconstructed to save peoples live.
“If you are coming from the stadium to that roundabout, it’s very risky due to the sloppy nature of that portion of the road. I hope this is taken seriously with another fatality experienced,” he said.

It was learned that a female survivor with both legs mangled in the latest accident was rejected at nearby Divine Love Hospital, Utu Ikot Imonte and also at the Utu Etim Ekpo Government Hospital.

The woman in pains had to be rushed to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, UUTH, a 45 minute drive from the scene of the incident.

Military authorities in Akwa Ibom and State Sector Command, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Police Public Relations Officer, PRO, John James were yet to speak on the incident at press time.