An auto crash on Saturday at Orji community along the Owerri- Okigwe Expressway in the Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State claimed the life of a female trader.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that a heavy-duty vehicle collided with a commercial vehicle popularly known as Busimo.
Apart from the diseased, other passengers on the bus were said to have sustained injuries and were rushed to hospitals.
The crash caused a traffic jam on the road with the state police command deploying officials from its Traffic Department to the scene.
An eyewitness said, “One person died in the auto crash and many others sustained injuries and were rushed to hospitals.
“The victim was a trader. She had closed for the day and went to a nearby community known as Akabo to drop something for somebody. She was on her way back when the accident occurred and she lost her life.”
Our correspondent gathered that immediately after the auto crash, angry youths stormed the scene and set the vehicle on fire.
“We thought that bandits were on the rampage because the explosion from the vehicle’s tyres after it was set ablaze sounded as if it was dynamite that was thrown. It was later that it was discovered that the heavy-duty vehicle was set ablaze by some unknown persons,” another eyewitness said.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Henry Okoye, confirmed the casuality figure.
He disclosed that the command had commenced an investigation into the incident.
