A secondary school student sitting for the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination and a commercial motorcyclist have lost their lives in a tragic road accident along the Choba axis of the East-West Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident occurred on Wednesday evening when a truck reportedly rammed into a motorcycle conveying the student home after her examination.
The deceased student, identified simply as Juliet, was said to have written her examination at a secondary school in Emuoha Local Government Area before boarding the motorcycle, popularly known as Okada, for the journey home.
An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the truck lost control and crashed into the motorcycle, killing both the rider and the student.
“While the Okada with the candidate (student) was riding, the truck, which was speeding, lost control and crushed them from the other side of the road.
“He may have lost control due to the heavy rain on Wednesday evening,” the eyewitness stated.
The accident reportedly drew a crowd of passers-by and sympathisers, many of whom were visibly shaken by the sight of the victims.
Confirming the incident on Thursday, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko Agabe, said the bodies of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
Agabe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, disclosed that the truck driver had been arrested, while the vehicle had been handed over to the Vehicle Inspection Office for examination.
“Yes, I can confirm the incident. Two persons died. The driver has been arrested and the truck was handed over to the Vehicle Inspection Office for proper inspection.
“The two corpses have been deposited at the morgue of the UPTH, and investigation is ongoing,” she stated.
