8 killed on road

By ZACHERY PER

EIGHT people died in two road accidents in the same area on Sunday, prompting police to again warn drivers not to drink and drive.
Eastern Highlands provincial police commander Superintendent Alex N’Drasal said seven died while two were critically injured when a vehicle veered off a bridge and plunged into a creek near the Watabung government station in Daulo district, Eastern Highlands.
Also in the same area on Sunday, the driver of a container truck died instantly after the vehicle went off the road and plunged into a creek.
He said the seven people in the first accident included two females. The driver who sustained minor injuries was treated and released. He is from Pari village in the Kundiawa-Gembogl district in Chimbu and is now in police custody.
The passengers in the 10-seater vehicle were heading for Chimbu when it veered off the Finoku Bridge near the Watabung government station.
N’Drasal said the vehicle smashed onto a huge boulder on the creek bed, making it difficult to remove the bodies that night. They managed to remove the bodies yesterday with the help of people who had to use cutters to get inside the vehicle.
He said initial police investigation revealed that alcohol was involved and that the vehicle would have been travelling at high speed.
In the second accident, N’Drasal said police believed that the steering wheel locked automatically, causing the vehicle to veer off the road. The driver died instantly.
“I appeal to the people of Eastern Highlands with coffee to use their money wisely. Do not buy alcohol. Save up for school fees and other useful purposes during this coffee season,” he said.
“Alcohol is responsible for the loss of lives and destruction.”
He warned drivers to be careful when approaching dangerous portions of the Highlands Highway such as at Kassam Pass and Daulo Pass.