BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

BENIN — NO fewer than 14 persons, yesterday, lost their lives in an automobile accident which occurred in Ewu on the Benin-Okene-Abuja highway in Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State.

Vanguard gathered that the accident, which involved a 15-seater Toyota Hiace bus, belonging to the Edo City Transport Service, ECTS, and an articulated vehicle, occurred when the truck smashed the bus against another truck following brake failure.

It was further learnt that the bus driver over took the truck and was in-between the two trucks.
An eyewitness, who observed the incident, disclosed that the truck behind suddenly smashed the bus against the other truck, resulting in the instant death of 14 occupants of the bus, including the driver.

Corpses of the victims have been deposited at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, ISTH, mortuary, Irrua, Edo State, just as those who were injured are receiving treatment in the same hospital.
At press time, men of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Iruekpen, were making efforts to clear the gridlock caused by the accident.

Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross Society in Edo Central, Mike Odiahi, who lamented the frequent accidents at the spot, advised motorists against careless overtaking, urging them to always obey traffic rules and regulations.
He called for the introduction of compulsory driving school for all road users as a way of reducing road accidents, just as he appealed to public-spirited individuals to assist the Red Cross with ambulances to ease rescue operations.