By Emeka Odogwu
AWKA—FIVE members of the Lord’s Chosen Church from Benin, Edo State cheated death in Awka when the vehicle they were travelling in crashed into a gutter in Awka yesterday.
The five persons came out unhurt in a motor accident involving a Mercedes 190 with registration number MUS984BX, on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway opposite Government House Awka.
The accident which was said to be caused by a faulty break system, occurred around 3:13pm, but none of the five occupants of the vehicle was injured.
Officials of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC helped the victims out of the vehicle which fell into a drainage channel by the roadside.
An occupant of the vehicle, Ruth Kalu who was sitting in the front seat when the accident happened attributed the cause to a faulty brake system as according to her, she noticed when the driver was struggling with the brake pedal and it couldn’t respond.
She said they were heading to Abakiliki after a three day crusade held by the Lord’s Chosen Church at Benin and thanked God that none of the five people in the vehicle was injured.
Another occupant of the vehicle, Kenneth Ozumeh, described their safety as the act of God as none could believe they came out unscratched.
Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Sunday Ajayi regretted the rate at which accidents occur in the area, advising road users especially drivers to always be vigilant and reduce their speed while plying the road as the topography of the area is sloppy.
Ajayi used the opportunity to call on road users to always be obedient to road safety laws as it is for their own safety even as he warned drivers against over-speeding and carelessness on the highway, as according to him, they are the major causes of road crashes.
An eye witness informed that the driver, after struggling with his brake smashed another private car coming out from the Civil Defence junction in the area and damaged the front beyond repair.
Meanwhile a fortnight ago a toddler crawls out of car crash at the same spot which left one dead, and six injured in Awka.