Professor, Baby And 3 Others Die In Car Crash

A Professor of Human Physiology and Dean, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences at the Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Prof. Robert Nneli, and five others on Thursday died in a multiple auto crash that occurred along the Ezzamgbo axis of the Abakaliki/Enugu Expressway.

According to Punch, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ebonyi State, Mrs. Stella Uchendu, who confirmed the accident, said that the crash occurred around 9pm on Thursday night.


The FRSC boss said that the accident happened as a result of a head-on collision that involved a trailer with registration number Nassarawa 2183 XT.

“The vehicle veered off its lane and had a head-on collision with an oncoming articulated vehicle and crushed it. The accident equally claimed the lives of a pregnant woman and a nine-month-old baby among others,” she said.

Investigation revealed that Professor Nneli was travelling with his Toyota Camry vehicle to his hometown in Anambra State when the incident occurred.

It was gathered that his driver also died in the crash while his son survived and is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

The second accident involved a jeep that rammed into the trailer that was involved in the first incident and it occurred at 11pm.

It was learnt that the accident led to the instant death of the five occupants while the six survivors of the crash who sustained injuries are receiving treatment in the hospital.

Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps evacuated both the dead victims and the injured to hospital.

Reacting to the incident, the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Jude Madu, debunked insinuations in some quarters that police officers were to blame for the accident, reiterating that officers of the command were stationed at the scene of the incident directing traffic.

“It is unfortunate that motorists refused to heed the instructions of the police officers, including the driver of the SUV involved in the crash,” Madu concluded.