By Ruth Oginyi
A mosquito insecticide producer/seller, identified as Papa Elijah, was Wednesday crushed to death by a truck as he tried to cross the Enugu Abakaliki highway.
Papa Elijah reportedly hailed from Okposi, Ohaozara but lives around the Nkaliki area.
The accident occurred at Aforezuna junction near Spare in Deo flyover, Abakaliki when two trucks vied for space on the ever-busy Abakaliki highway and crushed the man to death.
The report has it that while one of the trucks hit the aged man and he fell while the other crushed him beyond recognition.
An eyewitness told journalists at the scene that one of the drivers of the truck escaped when the incident occurred while the other stopped and reported himself to the police.
“Papa Elijah was crossing the other lane of Expressway to buy kerosene in a filling station located on the highway. While the old man was crossing the road, two trucks (911) were at high speed, competing for space. One of the trucks hit the man and he fell. The other ran on him and crushed him.
Emergency rescue personnel at the scene and one of the victims lying dead on the floor.
“Immediately the incident happened, one of the drivers of the truck escaped through the flyover located on the road.
“The other driver had to stop and report the accident to the police.
“Shortly, a team of policemen came to the scene and the deceased was evacuated with zinc because it was crushed beyond recognition. The man was identified with only the clothes he was wearing when he left his house to buy kerosene,” the eyewitness said.
The eyewitness, who hails from the same Okposi community in the Ohaozara local government area of the state with the deceased, described him as a hard-working man, despite his old age.
He said Papa Elijah always makes insecticides from which where he makes his money to feed his family and that it was the kerosene he uses to prepare the insecticide that he went to buy in the filling station when he was crushed to death by the trucks.
Meanwhile, a team of policemen was seen at the scene with sympathisers.
The policemen later carried the truck “it’s the driver that stopped when the tragedy occurred that took them to their station.”