Cripple begging for alms crushed to death in Benin

A physically challenged man, whose identity could not be ascertained, was yesterday crushed to death in an accident involving a Toyota Highlander SUV and Toyota Corolla saloon car at the Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Benin City.

The accident, which occurred at Boundary Road in the GRA during the early hours of yesterday, left a cripple begging for alms on the road dead at the scene of the accident.

Sources at the scene said the drivers of the two vehicles were on top speed while approaching a junction, lost control and crushed the cripple begging for alms by the roadside.

The incident led to traffic gridlock on the road for many hours as motorists and other road users lamented the sudden death of the helpless cripple.

In a related development, two vehicles caught fire and were completely destroyed beyond repair on the Uselu-Benin-Lagos Road. When The Guardian visited the scene, the vehicles were billowing in sooth at the popular Uselu Shell and Benin Technical College (BTC) axis of the road. Efforts by passersby to salvage the vehicle were unsuccessful.

Also, five persons were reported killed and property worth millions of naira burnt in an accident involving a fuel-laden tanker and a trailer on a highway in Jebba, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State.

According to authorities, the accident occurred as a result of brake failure of the tanker, which rammed into a trailer loaded with new motorcycles, somersaulted and caught fire.

Five vehicles, nine motorcycles, motor spare parts and phone accessories were also burnt as the spilled petrol from the tanker spread the fire to shops, residential buildings and a mosque near the road.

The deputy speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Mathew Okedare, expressed sympathy to victims and called on the federal and state governments to assist those who lost property to the incident.

Okedare, whose constituency covers the area, described Jebba people as very enterprising. He appealed to the government to help the people get back to their various businesses and improve the community’s economy.

The lawmaker also praised the quick response of Jebba Paper Mills’ Fire Service Department, which he said ensured the fire did not spread into the main town.

Representatives of Motorcycle Riders Association and transport owners in the town also called for government’s urgent assistance, saying many of their members who lost their vehicles to the fire had acquired the vehicles through loans from cooperative societies.