An angry crowd led predominantly by motorcyclists has set a truck ablaze in Caldwell, Montserrado County, after it killed a motorcycle operator instantly in a road accident.
The horrible incident occurred Saturday afternoon, June 29, 2024, around the Caldwell Bridge. The corpse of the victim only identified as Mohammed was surrounded by grieving motorcyclists as police responded to calm the situation.
Residents of Logan Town and Caldwell Stockon Creek Community witnessed the tragedy and went on the rampage by setting the truck ablaze.
Mohammed was on his normal commercial transportation trail with a passenger from Logan Town to Caldwell when he met his untimely death at the Caldwell Bridge interceptions.
A Chinese sand truck allegedly hit the bike being operated by Mohammed from the rear, instantly killing him and wounding his female passenger.
Eyewitnesses could not hold back their tears, especially mothers and young people. Some of the aggrieved young people defied police orders and set the truck ablaze.
Mohammed was a resident of Blamo Yard Community in Logan Town. He had two kids and a spouse who lived in Freetown, Sierra Leone, as dependents.
According to eyewitnesses, Mohammed was hit from the back by the truck, and he died instantly.
They continued that Mohammed was transporting a lady believed to be pregnant. The lady is said to be seeking medication at the Redemption Hospital due to bad injuries she sustained from the accident.
They explained that Mohammed had packed his motorbike and was waiting for the traffic on the bridge to be cleared before he could make his way through the Caldwell Bridge when the truck hit him from the rear.
"The man died on the spot ... they couldn't get his body properly, and so he was packed and put in a rice bag," one witness narrated.
"The body is currently at Redemption where the lady is also taking treatment ... under critical condition."
Madam Mary Fahnbulleh said in an interview that Mohammed was carrying a pregnant lady on his bike in Caldwell.
She said the victim got in traffic when the Chinese sand truck ran into him and immediately killed him.
"I was sitting here roasting my corn when we saw the bike man stocked in the traffic awaiting it to go down for him to use the bridge to get to Caldwell. However, while in that process, we saw a Chinese sand truck and it ran into him and instantly killed him," Madam Fahnbulleh said.
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For his part, James Bonor, a motorcyclist who rode along Logan Town--Caldwell Road, said he has known Mohammed for approximately two years in the traffic.
He said he does not know Mohammed to be someone who speeds with his bike. According to him, they were lecturing at the Logan Town parking lot when the lady came and got on Mohammed's bike.
"The lady got on his bike and we stopped lecturing, that's how he left. Later, someone came too and sat on my bike, but when I got here, I saw the situation and it's terrible," Mr. Bonor explained.
"Mohammed is not the running type. He is a quiet man and a family person. He always talking about his two children," Bonor noted.
According to the aggrieved residents, truck drivers are always killing people and taking advantage of motorcyclists.
They claimed that they set the truck ablaze because the police did not act against the truck drivers for these alleged behaviors.
"This man has [a] family. Who will take care of his family? This is not the first time or second for [the] truck drivers to take advantage of us," Bonor continued.
"We are tired [of] this and ... each time this happens, the police can protect them. And so, since the police can protect them, we will burn their truck," he noted.
