By Moma Sandrine
It was at about 8am on Friday November 16, when a teenage boy whose name The Sun got as Roderick met his untimely death in a road accident at meta-quarters Bamenda.
Eye witness accounts have it that Roderick, while on a bike, was trying to overtake a 70 seater-bus at the right side, before the gravel on the road caused him to fall off the motorbike alongside the passenger he was carrying. As he fell on the ground, the 70 seater bus that had slowed down due to the bad state of the road upon taking off climbed on his head while reversing. The passenger, who had manged to jump off the bike sustained some injuries and was rushed to the hospital. He however gave up the ghost later that evening.
“Actually, I was on my way to the house and out of a sudden this 70 seater just stopped, then this bike rider was trying to overtake from behind from the right which was the wrong side, so he slipped off on the gravel and as he fell, the bus that was about to take off reversed a little and smashed the guy”, an eyewitness explained to The SUN.
The tragic incident which occurred almost simultaneously with the fire outbreak around Bamenda food market pulled a huge crowd to the scene. Bike riders in particular flooded the meta-quaters highway to witness what had befallen one of theirs. “I cannot believe what my eyes have just seen. The dead boy is my brother and it’s not up to 30 minutes that he left the house for work. It’s a terrible thing to behold”, Roderick’s brother said in tears.
It is reported that immediately after the accident had occurred, the driver of the 70 seater bus had to run for his dear life for fear of mob justice, as people had already been bubbling in anger. Although some blame the driver for the accident, those who were at the scene said the bike rider was totally to be blamed. “I will not stand here to blame the driver of the bus because the bike rider was on the wrong side. If I must say anything to the Okada union, I will say they should really respect the Highway Code. They are so wreckless in town, hurrying to arrive in no destination”, an onlooker commented. The bad state of the road with the unrefined gravel that had been poured in an attempt to fill the pod holes has also been blamed for the accident. “The gravel on our roads badly affects us. I remember the other day, I carried my wife on my bike and as we were bypassing a vehicle, it raised a stone and the stone hit my wife while I was passing safely, so my wife could have sustained an injury because of the gravel on the road. And if you apply your break carelessly, this gravel is capable of pushing you on the ground with the bike. I think the gravel has a negative effect on bike riders”, the onlooker added.
This is not the first time the unrefined gravel on roads in Bamenda has resulted to bike accidents. Also, many people have been complaining about the state of the roads. Some have gone as far as pushing the gravel into gutters while hoping that something better is done to better the state of roads in Bamenda.