Benue: Truck crushes varsity lecturer, wife, three children to death

SEVEN persons were reported to have lost their lives in a motor accident at Gbatse community along Ugbema-Adikpo Road in the Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State.

The incident happened around 5pm at the weekend when a truck crushed a Toyota Camry car with number plate, MKD 300 NH, killing all the occupants of the car.

Naija Times gathered that two lecturers from a faith-based private tertiary institution, University of Mkar, among others, lost their lives in the tragic incident.

Speaking on how the accident happened, an eyewitness said, “A truck ram into a stationary Toyota Camry car with the number plate, MKD-300-NH, crushing the seven occupants to death.

“The truck was conveying a car and the driver wanted to escape from a police checkpoint when he rammed into the waiting car, killing all the occupants.

“It took the police and other individuals over five hours to evacuate the bodies of the victims.”

The eyewitness added that victims were later identified from their documents which were found on them after their corpses had been extricated from the wreck of the car.

He said, “Some documents recovered from the scene of the accident identified the lecturers as Mr Josua Leva of Mass Communication Department, and Moses Tarnongo, among the victims of the accident.

“A Zenith ATM card was found on the bodies of one of the victims, identifying her as Adaa Blessing.”

Tarnongo reportedly died alongside his wife and three children.

The Benue State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Aliyu Baba, said, “The accident was caused by dangerous driving from the truck driver, who was trying to dodge a checkpoint. He crushed the occupants of the Toyota Camry, killing seven people and injuring one.”

It was gathered that the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday sent condolences to families of the victims.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, Ortom “sympathized with the management, staff and students of University of Mkar who lost two of their lecturers in the accident – Joseph Leva; and Moses Tarnongo who died alongside his wife and three children.