One person is feared dead after a fully loaded commercial bus lost control and crashed into a provisions shop at Imezi Owa in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The accident occurred on Friday evening near a settlement close to the local government headquarters.
The eighteen-seater bus, reportedly loaded in Enugu and heading to Onitsha in Anambra State, veered off the road before hitting several structures and individuals.
An eyewitness, Mary Ann, said the bus was moving at high speed moments before the crash.
“The driver lost control. The bus sped past our shop, hit a man on a motorcycle, and he fell unconscious. He was immediately rushed to the hospital,” she said.
Another eyewitness, a vulcaniser, described the scene as “terrible,” adding that the bus first hit another bus that was wrongly parked, then rammed into two motorcycles and destroyed a POS kiosk.
Several roadside shops were also damaged.
He added that the major casualty was the owner of a provisions shop whose business was directly struck by the bus.
“The driver must have tried to avoid more casualties and diverted toward a water tank beside the shop. The tank was destroyed, which reduced the impact before the bus landed inside the shop. Many items were destroyed. It even jumped over the drainage,” he narrated.
The driver was not immediately identified at the scene.
“We didn’t see who the driver was. Maybe he didn’t run away, but no one could identify him. Drivers should always maintain their vehicles to avoid accidents like this. Many people were injured,” he added.
DAILY GAZETTE learned that the shop owner, a woman, had stepped out briefly before the crash.
“She would have been gone,” an Okada rider said.
Some passengers aboard the bus reportedly sustained various degrees of injuries.
