Commercial driver flees after crushing police officer to death

The family of Inspector Edighere Orhewere, whose life was cut short when an LT commercial bus crushed him in the Agbara area of Lagos State, has claimed that the breadwinner’s death has thrown his dependants into hardship.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the 50-year-old and his colleagues mounted surveillance at a black spot in the Agbara area when the driver of the commercial bus, with number plate KSF 475, lost control of the vehicle due to reckless driving and rammed the policeman from behind.

The driver reportedly abandoned the bus at the scene of the crash and absconded.

While some of the victim’s colleagues ran after the fleeing driver, others tried to rescue the father of seven, but the impact of the crash reportedly broke Orhewere’s waist and spinal cord.

The Inspector died on the spot, while efforts by his colleagues to arrest the fleeing driver proved abortive.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Orhewere was killed as a result of reckless driving on the part of the driver, adding that his remains were immediately evacuated and deposited in the Badagry General Hospital’s mortuary.

The source said, “We were at the checkpoint in Agbara and saw the policeman and his colleagues watching over the area, which is always crowded. There had been a lot of reckless driving around the area because it was a festive period. So, while they were at their duty post, in a split second, the LT commercial bus rammed into the policeman.

“When we got there, we saw that the iron rod in front of the bus pierced through his waist and he sustained a very deep wound in his waist. His spinal cord was broken due to the impact of the crash and he died on the spot. After the accident, the driver of the bus abandoned the vehicle and ran away.”

It was learnt that the owner of the abandoned vehicle was later traced and arrested.

During interrogation, the vehicle owner gave the driver’s address, but police personnel, who were mobilised to the location, discovered that he and his family had moved out of the house.

Orhewere’s daughter, Patience, told PUNCH Metro that the police visited their home to inform the family members of her father’s death, adding that living had been unbearable to them since then.

The 27-year-old said, “Officers from our father’s working place visited our house and told us what happened. We were told that he had an accident while at his duty post and he died.

“Ever since his death, life has not been easy for us; it is by God’s grace that we have been getting money to feed ourselves. We have interred his remains. I am a graduate and studied political science and ever since I finished my youth service, I have been looking for a job. I want the government to assist us because we can’t stop crying.”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the command had launched a manhunt for the fleeing driver, adding that an investigation into the matter was ongoing.

Elkana said, “This is part of the hazards that police personnel face on the job every day, while carrying out their duties of protecting lives and properties as enshrined in the Constitution. It is either a policeman is killed by an armed robber or crushed by a vehicle while carrying out his lawful duty. These are some of the issues that most times Nigerians never get to know.

“The Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, is in pain for losing a policeman at this time that we need him the most; so, we mourn his passage. The police have a policy of giving a policeman, who died in the line of duty, a befitting burial and also his family can start processing his benefits after the mourning period.

“We have launched an investigation into the case and also launched a manhunt for the fleeing driver in a bid to track him down so that he can be prosecuted and justice is served.”