Heartland Football Club of Owerri has provided details of how its Coach, Christian Obi died in a ghastly motor accident on Friday, August 23, 2024.
The club, in a statement issued by its Media Officer, Tunde Liadi, while confirming Obi’s demise, revealed that the accident occurred at Okwelle in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo at about 4pm.
Liadi explained that the accident happened when the Coaster bus conveying the coach and players collided with a stationary truck, in a bid to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle.
According to him, there were at least 20 members of the team in the bus and that some players sustained various degrees of injuries.
The media officer stated that the team was on its way for the TICO/SELECT Ifeanyi Ekwueme Pre-season Tournament taking place in Abakaliki, Ebonyi, when the accident happened.
The driver, he further stated, tried his best to avert the accident but the impact of the collision caused a sudden shock to the coach.
The image maker of the club disclosed that he was unconscious, with a slight injury on his right leg, when he was taken out of the badly damaged bus.
Christian Obi
He added that Obi and other injured players were immediately rushed to a nearby private hospital for medical treatment.
He regretted that the coach later passed on, while the medical team was making frantic effort to resuscitate him.
“The heart breaking day saw the Heartland FC team departing the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri for the pre-season tournament with enthusiasm at around 3:30pm in three vehicles.
“At about some minutes past 4pm, one of the vehicles rammed into a carelessly parked truck, while attempting to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
“Words alone cannot fully capture how the news of his death has thrown everyone at the club into deep mourning because of how precious he was to the club.
“His name would continue to remain etched in the history of the club, following the club’s unbeaten run in the Nigeria National League throughout the 2022-23 season, a feat that culminated in the club winning the League Super 8 in Asaba, Delta State,“ Liadi added.
