Commerce Delegate Killed In Car Accident

By Orock Eta| Friday, April 23, 2010 | The Post|

A ghastly accident involving a car and a motorbike, at the junction to the Southwest Governor’s Office in Buea, Tuesday, April 20, left Emmanuel Tchuako, Fako Divisional Delegate of Commerce, dead. A taxi matriculated SW 813 AF driven from Buea Town at break neck speed, collided with the bike on which Tchuako was riding; bashing him to a stationed private car matriculated SW 8842 C.

Eyewitness said the taxi driver was descending at break neck speed, rolling his car with the engine switched off, in order to save fuel. Discovering Tchuako on his bike trying to negotiate the bend to the Governor’s office, it is said the driver of the taxi applied brakes, which didn’t work, apparently because his engine had been turned off.

“Tchuako and his bike, were bundled onto the stationed car, he somersaulted, fell on the wind shield of the taxi and then onto the tarmac, where he crashed with his bare head” a telephone booth operator said. Lying helpless on the floor, the Delegate reportedly bled profusely, with his shoes and documents scattered around. He was rushed to the Buea Regional Hospital Annex, where he died a few hours later, apparently due to excessive bleeding.

At the hospital, his wife was heard saying “I had always reminded him to use his helmet when riding his bike, but he wouldn’t listen”. While his office is based in Limbe, Tchuako is said to come to Buea occasionally for work. He had been in Buea barely a few hours before his death, to have some official documents signed at the Governor’s office, The Post learnt. Some of his collaborators, who rushed to hospital after the incident, said the bike was given to him about a year ago to facilitate his duties.

His corpse was later transferred to the Limbe Regional Hospital mortuary for further burial arrangements while the taxi driver, his car and the shattered bike were taken to the police station. Hospital officials say the Delegate could have could have escaped death if he was putting on a helmet or if the taxi driver was driving on normal speed with his engine on.

Police Driver Disagreement

At the scene of the incident, a police officer accused some drivers of switching off their vehicles when on a hill, in order to economise fuel. According to the officer, drivers do this in order to make more money at the end of the day.

Some of the drivers got angry by the officer’s utterances and retaliated with verbal blows, asking the officer why they don’t arrest such drivers rather than collecting FCFA 500 from them. A quarrel ensued as more drivers stopped by in solidarity, telling the police officer to go to hell. The situation almost degenerated into a fight when a senior police officer intervened.

In the past months, there have been a remarkable number of avoidable accidents in Buea. A driver we spoke to said they occur because the police usually don’t care to check if a driver has gone through proper driving test, has a fake driver’s permit or the car is in good condition, an accusation which the police threw back on the authorities of  the Ministry of Transport.