Tragedy as mother dies saving infant in horrific Abuja multiple crash

2026-02-17 - 14:16

By Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA: A typical Tuesday morning at the bustling Tipper Garage Junction in Dutse turned into a scene of carnage and heartbreak when a heavy-duty truck, allegedly coming from Niger Republic, suffered a catastrophic brake failure, hurtling into a line of unsuspecting commuters. The accident, which reportedly occurred around 9:30am, claimed the life of a young mother who, in her final moments, was part of a desperate struggle for survival inside a mangled commercial tricycle. While the mother died on the spot, her infant was miraculously pulled from the wreckage, a small mercy in a disaster that left at least 11 others caught in the path of the runaway vehicle. The truck, bearing registration number HF-51-TOH, was heavily laden with goods, including kegs of groundnut oil, plastics and mosquito repellents. Eyewitnesses described a terrifying sight as the massive vehicle descended the steep slope from Usman Dam Road. With its brakes gone, the driver lost all control, with the truck becoming a multi-ton projectile. It first clipped four vehicles on the descent before ploughing directly into two tricycles and a salon car stationed at the busy junction. The impact was devastating as the salon car, carrying four passengers, was crushed, though two occupants managed to crawl out of the twisted metal alive. Commuters at the scene rushed to help, facing a chaotic mix of spilt oil and debris as they pulled victims from the site. Emergency responders from the Federal Road Safety Corps FRSC and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC arrived to find a crowd of shell-shocked bystanders. While the infant survived, the mother’s body was covered at the scene before being evacuated alongside the injured to the Kubwa General Hospital. The Tipper Garage Junction is notorious for its difficult slope, with residents advocating visible warning sites and speed bumps on the route.