Trailer falls, crushes trader’s legs in P’Harcourt.

A trailer loaded with containers fell on the ever-busy Akpajo road and injured a woman, said to be currently in a critical condition.

The fallen heavy duty vehicle shattered the legs of a woman selling fruits at Akpajo Junction in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was gathered that the vehicle with Registration No. OGZFZA FZE 944RV suddenly fell by the side of the road where about six persons were selling fruits and other items.

The incident, which occurred at about 1.30pm on Monday, attracted many motorists and passersby who tried to pull the woman out of the trap.

A taxi driver told Southern City News that the woman’s legs were shattered by the iron container, adding that they had to start digging the ground to free the two legs of the victim.

“We were there for about 40 minutes trying to save the woman’s legs. She was not unconscious, but she was crying for help. At the end, we pulled her out, but the legs were gone and she lost so much blood,” the driver, who identified himself as Solomon said.

It was learnt that though the woman was immediately rushed to the hospital, it was not certain if she would survive the accident.

A woman, who sells foods close to the accident scene, also told Southern City News that the victim was selling fruits by the roadside in order to assist the family.

The food seller said the driver of the heavy duty vehicle disappeared into thin air when he noticed the damage that had been done by his fallen trailer.

“She (the victim) is a mother of four children after delivering twins twice and her first children are just five years old. I pray she survives this. But for her legs, I am afraid they (legs) may be amputated.

“Up till this moment, we cannot say particularly what made the trailer to fall in such a manner. There was no pothole or gully within that place. But the trailer fell as if it had entered a big pothole.

“A young man who sells phone accessories narrowly escaped death because he saw when the trailer was falling and was quick in jumping away from the place where the trailer fell.

“The woman, who got trapped, was backing the trailer and could not leave the place quickly,” the food seller, who does not want her name mentioned, added.

A policewoman, who was on duty when the accident happened, said she and her colleagues controlling traffic at Akpajo junction, had warned traders to stay far from the road, but said their warnings had always fallen on deaf ears.

She recalled that a trailer had in 2013 rammed into a shop on the same Akpajo road, adding that the traders refused to learn a lesson from what happened two years ago.

The trailer was still at Akpajo Junction at about 2pm when Southern City News visited the place, even as members of the public called on relevant authorities to remove the vehicle from the spot in order to avoid another accident.