By Frank Ulom
A senior journalist working with the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC) Mr. Peter Okon who was hit by a reckless driver in the early hours of Saturday 20th January 2024 in Calabar is currently seeking financial support.
Mr. Okon was seen jogging along the way with his wife when the driver on call holding hands with a woman in the passenger seat, hit him.
On the verge of trying to save his wife from the reckless driver, Okon ended up being badly hit as his two legs were crushed by the vehicle.
He was rushed to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) Male Orthopaedic Ward, where he is currently on admission.
The incident happened near Calabar-Calabar, along the Murtala Mohammed Highway. Narrating the incident on his hospital bed, Okon who is News Director at CRBC, said:
“As my wife and I were about to jog back to our home in the nearby Federal Housing Estate, Calabar, after the usual weekly exercise, here comes a car veering off the roundabout towards us with speed.
“Sensing danger, I was able to push off my wife who then fell into the gutter with degrees of injuries.
“It was now too late for me to jump away and help myself. As a result, the reckless driver who was steering the wheel with one hand answering a call whilst a woman held his hand, hit me, crushing my two legs.
“My wife told me that the only person that came to her head was the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Cross River State Council, Comrade Gill Nsa-Abasi whom she called to evacuate me to UCTH.”
The journalist while narrating his incident to a fellow journalist said he has spent a lot on tests, major surgery, bed space, medical consumables, and lots more. He said the doctors told him they would carry out a plastic surgery on one of the legs that was badly affected.
Comrade Nsa-Abasi, the State NUJ Chairman in his reaction has appealed to fellow journalists and the general public to assist Okon and his family at this trying time. Meanwhile, it was gathered that the young man who drove the car did not run away.
To help Mr. Okon, you can visit the Male Orthopaedic Ward at the UTCH, Calabar, Cross River State.
You can also reach him via his phone number: +2348037929718.