By Nwabueze Okonkwo

ONITSHA — Barely five days after last Sunday’s ill-fated petrol tanker disaster that left about 70 persons dead at Asaba Motor Park, Upper Iweka, Onitsha, another auto crash, Thursday, claimed two lives at Ogidi, near Onitsha.

The accident, according to an eyewitness, occurred when an official of Anambra State Traffic Management Agency, ATMA, (names withheld), hit a commercial motorcyclist at Ugwu Nwasike Round-about, Ogidi.

According to the source, as soon as the ATMA Sports Utility Vehicle, SUV hit the cyclist, the cyclist in turn, knocked down a passerby, who was later identified as Emeka Ogbu, a Senior Prefect of Day Star Secondary School, Ogidi.

Both the cyclist and the senior prefect died minutes after they were rushed to New Mayor’s Hospital, Iyi-Enu, Ogidi, a nearby private hospital.

When the news of the incident filtered in, the state Commissioner for Transport, Chuma Mbodu, expressed regret that a government official and vehicle were involved in such an ugly development.

Mbodu said he was yet to get the true picture of the accident, adding that investigations were still in progress by the ministry to get to the root of the matter. The premises of the deceased’s school was deserted when visited Vanguard, but a boy who claimed to be one of the students, said the deceased hailed from Enugu State.

“He joined our school just this third term but because of his brilliance, the school management appointed him the senior prefect,’’ he said.

He added that the deceased was the only son of the family and was just returning home from school when he was killed close to his house.

He alleged that the ATMA official was chasing the commercial motorcyclist apparently to arrest him for a traffic offence before the cyclist in turn, hit the boy to death.

Confirming the accident, Ogidi Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Mr. Hassan Musa, said investigation was on-going.

“That boy was a senior prefect of a secondary school at Ogidi and we commiserate with the family,” the DPO stated