Woman dies aiding boy to cross road

A 22-year old lady, Ruth Ubi, was on Sunday evening crushed to death after a vehicle knocked her down while aiding an unidentified little boy to cross the busy Atimbo Road on the outskirts of Calabar, Cross River State.

Ubi, who was said to be on her way to a market at the Atimbo area of Calabar, was aiding the five-year-old boy, who found it difficult crossing the road, when a Toyota Camry saloon came out from an adjourning street and knocked her down.

An eyewitness, Beatrice Inyang, told PUNCH Metro on Monday that Ubi’s head was immediately smashed open by an oncoming truck after the car had flung her body into the middle of the road.

She said, “I was trying to open the door of my salon when I saw a taxi (Toyota Camry) flung the woman into the path of a truck that was passing and the truck smashed her head while her brain was all over the place.

“The taxi driver, who had initially wanted to stop, drove off on top speed. The boy she was holding however escaped with injuries and was taken to a hospital.”

It was gathered that the trailer driver immediately escaped from the scene of the accident to avoid being lynched by angry youths.

A relation of the deceased, who did not identify herself, told our correspondent that the lady was actually going to the evening market when she met her untimely death.

She said, “I was the one that asked her to buy some food condiments for us to cook. She had overstayed and I decided to walk to the market which is close to where I live.

“It was along the road that I started hearing whispers from passersby about what happened. Behold, it was my younger one, killed by two vehicles. I only met the cap and pieces of clothes that she was putting on.”

Asked if she knew the boy who survived the accident, she said, “No, they told me she wanted to help the young boy to cross to the other side of the road when she was knocked down. I learnt that the child survived.”

PUNCH Metro later gathered that the driver of the truck, whose identity was unknown, was being detained at the Airport Police Station. Our correspondent was also prevented from taking the picture of the truck which had been confiscated.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey, said, “Investigation is ongoing. The driver of the Toyota Camry is still at large.”