For someone who had just undergone surgery, Hussein Abdul-Azeez looked incredibly strong and cheery as he lay on a hospital bed in Asokoro General Hospital. The plasters on his right shoulder were the only evidence that less than half an hour earlier he had been wheeled out of the theatre after an operation to correct the anatomic structure of his fractured spatula.
Hussein is one of the surviving victims of last Monday's multiple auto crashes on the busy Abuja-Keffi Expressway, which, according to the National Emergency Management Authorities (NEMA), claimed 20 lives. An eyewitness at the scene of the crash said that she counted 25 dead bodies.
Two beds away from Hussein lay Ifeanyi, the driver of the trailer which lost control and crashed into oncoming vehicles. Ifeanyi sustained few leg wounds from the accident, and is now rapidly recovering from his injuries. Recounting the incident, he explained that he had been on his way from Lagos and was heading to Nyanya when he suddenly lost his brakes as he went down a steep slope at the Kugbo strip of the expressway.
Ifeanyi narrated that he frantically struggled to head the trailer into a nearby gutter, but soon lost his bearings and before he could do anything else, the trailer had climbed the separating structure, somersaulted and gone crashing down upon the vehicles approaching on the other side of the road.
He was brought to Asokoro General Hospital unconscious, along with the two other people who had been in the trailer with him. They only sustained minor injuries and were immediately discharged from the hospital.
When asked if he felt in any way responsible for the incident, Ifeanyi paused thoughtfully and responded with a firm determination that it was not his fault.
Two beds away, Hussein silently celebrates his life, as he also recalls the incident. He had been driving his Mazda to his mechanic's workshop at Kugbo. Not too long after making a u-turn at Abacha Barracks, he noticed the swerving trailer approaching from a distance, but could hardly make a move to save himself before it had crossed over to his lane and crashed into his Mazda as well as several other vehicles.
"I am a survivor", Hussein, a married fashion designer quietly whispers as he remembers the incident. Aside from the physical injuries sustained during the accident, Hussein is also recovering from the emotional wounds he has been nursing since the death of his four-day old baby boy earlier this month.
Head of the Emergency Medical Services and Orthopaedic Surgeon at Asokoro General Hospital, Dr. Sule Ahmed, explained that of the 15 victims brought in from Monday's auto crash, only three were admitted.
According to Dr. Ahmed, two of the cases were severe, and one of them who sustained head injuries had to be transferred out for neuro-surgery within the city.
Regarding the medical expenses of the accident victims, Dr. Ahmed explained that the Ministry of the Federal Capital gives an 'open cheque' for the treatment of mass casualties in incidents such as this.
Dr. Ahmed also noted that since the ban on commercial motorcycles (okadas) from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the volume of accident victims received at Asokoro General Hospital had significantly reduced from an average of 15 a day to about seven.
He went ahead to commend Nigerians for the sympathy and generosity shown to others in times of crisis, especially people from all walks of life who troop into the hospital to donate blood to save such accident victims.For someone who had just undergone surgery, Hussein Abdul-Azeez looked incredibly strong and cheery as he lay on a hospital bed in Asokoro General Hospital. The plasters on his right shoulder were the only evidence that less than half an hour earlier he had been wheeled out of the theatre after an operation to correct the anatomic structure of his fractured spatula.
Hussein is one of the surviving victims of last Monday's multiple auto crashes on the busy Abuja-Keffi Expressway, which, according to the National Emergency Management Authorities (NEMA), claimed 20 lives. An eyewitness at the scene of the crash said that she counted 25 dead bodies.
Two beds away from Hussein lay Ifeanyi, the driver of the trailer which lost control and crashed into oncoming vehicles. Ifeanyi sustained few leg wounds from the accident, and is now rapidly recovering from his injuries. Recounting the incident, he explained that he had been on his way from Lagos and was heading to Nyanya when he suddenly lost his brakes as he went down a steep slope at the Kugbo strip of the expressway.
Ifeanyi narrated that he frantically struggled to head the trailer into a nearby gutter, but soon lost his bearings and before he could do anything else, the trailer had climbed the separating structure, somersaulted and gone crashing down upon the vehicles approaching on the other side of the road.
He was brought to Asokoro General Hospital unconscious, along with the two other people who had been in the trailer with him. They only sustained minor injuries and were immediately discharged from the hospital.
When asked if he felt in any way responsible for the incident, Ifeanyi paused thoughtfully and responded with a firm determination that it was not his fault.
Two beds away, Hussein silently celebrates his life, as he also recalls the incident. He had been driving his Mazda to his mechanic's workshop at Kugbo. Not too long after making a u-turn at Abacha Barracks, he noticed the swerving trailer approaching from a distance, but could hardly make a move to save himself before it had crossed over to his lane and crashed into his Mazda as well as several other vehicles.
"I am a survivor", Hussein, a married fashion designer quietly whispers as he remembers the incident. Aside from the physical injuries sustained during the accident, Hussein is also recovering from the emotional wounds he has been nursing since the death of his four-day old baby boy earlier this month.
Head of the Emergency Medical Services and Orthopaedic Surgeon at Asokoro General Hospital, Dr. Sule Ahmed, explained that of the 15 victims brought in from Monday's auto crash, only three were admitted.
According to Dr. Ahmed, two of the cases were severe, and one of them who sustained head injuries had to be transferred out for neuro-surgery within the city.
Regarding the medical expenses of the accident victims, Dr. Ahmed explained that the Ministry of the Federal Capital gives an 'open cheque' for the treatment of mass casualties in incidents such as this.
Dr. Ahmed also noted that since the ban on commercial motorcycles (okadas) from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the volume of accident victims received at Asokoro General Hospital had significantly reduced from an average of 15 a day to about seven.
He went ahead to commend Nigerians for the sympathy and generosity shown to others in times of crisis, especially people from all walks of life who troop into the hospital to donate blood to save such accident victims.
Related story: Multiple car crash kills 32 in Abuja
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