Journalist, Peter Okon crushed by reckless driver in Calabar, seeks for support

A senior journalist, Peter Okon, employed with the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC), fell victim to a reckless driver who ran over him, resulting in severe injuries to both of his legs. The unfortunate incident occurred early last Saturday near the well-known Calabar-Calabar roundabout on the Murtala Mohammed highway. Okon, serving as a news director at CRBC, was jogging back home with his wife when the incident transpired.

The driver of the car, allegedly distracted by his phone and accompanied by a female companion, lost control and collided with Okon. As a consequence, Okon’s legs were crushed, and he is currently undergoing treatment at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital’s male orthopedic ward after a significant operation.

Recalling the incident, Okon shared, “As my wife and I were preparing to jog home in the nearby Federal Housing Estate Calabar after our regular weekly exercise, a speeding car approached from the roundabout. Sensing danger, I managed to push my wife away, and she fell into a gutter with varying degrees of injuries. Unfortunately, it was too late for me to evade the oncoming vehicle, and the reckless driver, handling the wheel with one hand while answering a call and accompanied by a woman holding his hand, struck me, resulting in the crushing of both my legs.”

Okon’s wife, after the incident, contacted the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Cross River State, Comrade Gill Nsa-Abasi, who arranged for Okon’s evacuation to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.

Okon revealed that he has incurred substantial expenses for major surgery, medications, tests, medical supplies, and bed space. He indicated that there is a need for plastic surgery on one of his severely affected legs.

The young man who drove the car reportedly did not flee the scene, and it is understood that the car owner did not authorize him to drive on that particular morning.

The NUJ chairman has appealed to colleagues and the public to come together and support Okon and his family during this challenging time. Efforts to obtain comments from Ikpi Esu, the spokesman of the Federal Road Safety Corps in the state, were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.