No fewer than
11 persons were "cleared" following the violation of a traffic rule
by a driver, which led to a crash on Gusau-Zaria Road, in the Tazame area of
Zamfara State.
While 6
persons were killed, 5 others, including two children, sustained serious injuries.
The collision
involved a Honda car and a Gulf car.
It was learnt
that the driver of the Honda was coming from Gusau, the Zamfara State capital,
while the other vehicle was heading towards Gusau at about 10.30am on Monday.
The Honda
driver, who was said to have been engrossed in a conversation on the telephone,
lost control of the car and swerved off his lane onto another lane, resulting
in a head-on collision with the Gulf.
It was
gathered that the two drivers and three other occupants of the two cars died on
the spot.
Men of the
Federal Road Safety Corps were said to have arrived at the scene a few minutes
later and rescued six persons to the Federal Medical Centre, Gusau, for
treatment.
One of them
later gave up the ghost in the hospital.
An eyewitness,
who gave his name only as Usman, told Punch that apart from engaging in a phone
conversation, the Honda driver was speeding.
He said, “I
was in my car returning to Zamfara from Kaduna State when the accident
happened. The two vehicles were mangled and I counted five persons lying
lifeless on the road.
“Before the
FRSC officials arrived at the scene, one of the injured occupants of the Honda
told me and some other motorists, who stopped by to assist them, that their
driver had been on the phone for a few minutes.
“He said he
warned the driver to park or end the call, but he refused until he suddenly
lost control of the car, which rammed into the oncoming Gulf. Speeding compounded
the effect of the accident.”
Usman said the
two children, who sustained bruises in the hands and legs, were between the
ages of four and eight.
“The bodies of
the deceased victims and the injured were taken away by the FRSC officials. Two
of the six injured were in a critical condition,” he added.
FRSC Sector
Commander in Zamfara, Amos Thliza, said the deceased are 3 males, 3 females.
He added that,
“People should always obey traffic rules and regulations. Avoid speeding, the
use of phones while driving, and overloading of vehicles. These are the things
we are urging motorists to desist from."
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