A deadly collision on the Awka–Onitsha expressway late Friday night has claimed six lives and left several others injured, prompting renewed calls for safer driving on Anambra roads.
The crash occurred near the Nawfia axis close to Enugu-Agidi Junction and involved a yellow-and-black tipper truck and a red passenger bus.
Emergency officials said both drivers were travelling at high speed moments before the impact.
The Anambra Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bridget Asekhauno, confirmed the incident on Saturday.
She explained that preliminary findings showed reckless acceleration and dangerous overtaking were major triggers.
“What happened here is a heartbreaking example of how impatience on the highway can destroy lives within seconds,” Asekhauno said.
According to the FRSC, 32 passengers were onboard the vehicles, nine men and twenty-three women.
Six people, including two men and four women, died on the spot, while five other women sustained varying degrees of injuries. Twenty-one passengers escaped unharmed.
Medical officials at Amaku General Hospital later confirmed the fatalities. The road was cleared shortly after, and traffic flow has since been restored.
A survivor of the crash, who identified herself as a passenger in the ill-fated bus, recounted that they were returning from a burial ceremony in Ebonyi State before the driver began speeding in an attempt to “recover lost time.”
She said the bus had overtaken several vehicles in quick succession before slamming into the oncoming tipper.
“We kept warning him, but he ignored everyone. Then everything went dark,” she recounted.
Road safety personnel described the accident as yet another reminder of rising impatience among motorists.
“Drivers need to understand that getting home safely is far more important than arriving early,” an FRSC official noted while speaking at the scene.
The corps stressed it will intensify enforcement and continue its public sensitisation campaigns as the festive season approaches, a period often marked by increased travel and higher accident risks.
Anambra has recorded several recent road tragedies. Earlier in November, a fatal crash along the Nteje–Awka stretch of the expressway claimed one life and injured another, signalling persistent safety concerns on major routes across the state.
The agency urged motorists to maintain safe speeds, avoid reckless overtaking, and remain alert, emphasising that road safety is a shared responsibility, one that can save countless lives as traffic builds in the weeks ahead.