Hotweb.waphall.com Tragedy struck on Friday at the Swali suburb of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital when a Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) patrol van, allegedly pursuing a tricycle, popularly known as ‘Keke NAPEP’, caused a crash that led to the death of two pupils.
The Keke driver and another victim, it was learnt, are receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
The accident, it was learnt, occurred at 4.30pm along the busy Swali Market Road when the victims were returning from school in the tricycle.
Eyewitnesses told Sunday Vanguard that trouble started when an attempt by a FRSC patrol team to stop the Keke driver for alleged traffic violation went awry.
The patrol vehicle was said to have given the tricycle a hot chase causing the latter to lose control and somersaulted when it ran into a ditch and flung the victims on the road.
One of the victims reportedly died on the spot while the second lost the struggle to live in hospital.
The deceased pupils, according to eyewitnesses, were of the same parents, while the third, said to be their cousin, was seriously injured.
The officials the FRSC officials, according to eyewitnesses, fled the scene, a development that sparked peaceful protest from Keke NAPEP operators in the area.
The aggrieved commercial tricyclists took over the stretch of Swali Road to Imgbi junction in protest, calling for the prosecution of the officers involved in the process that led to the tragic accident.
Contacted, the state FRSC Sector, Commander, Mr. Vincent Jack, said though he was not in town, he was informed of the unfortunate incident promising to get to the root of the matter.
But the state police public relations officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the tragic incident saying the matter is under investigation.