from Yakubu Wuyep, Jos

A pregnant woman identified as Ruth Nen Maurice, has lost her life in a fatal accident caused by a reckless driver who was allegedly attempting to evade officials of the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.

The tragic incident that happened on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, according to eyewitnesses, occurred in the city center as the driver tried to maneuver his escape from the VIO operatives and knocked down the woman who was said to be due for delivery in a few weeks, as she stood by the roadside waiting for a vehicle to convey her to a hospital for an antenatal check-up.

A close friend of the deceased, Ewan Boss Julz Odumu, who posted the sad news on Facebook on Wednesday, said the erring driver was performing what was described as a dangerous maneuver while trying to escape a VIO checkpoint when the vehicle struck the pregnant woman.

“Ruth Nen Maurice… My dear, it’s hard to post this but God knows best,” Odumu wrote emotionally.

He further lamented that Ruth was carrying twins and was almost due for delivery before the tragic accident cut her life short, praying for God to grant her family the strength to bear the painful loss.

“A mother who was preparing to welcome twins back home never made it alive. Her unborn babies never got the chance to cry, breathe, or see this world because of somebody’s reckless decision,” Odumu wrote.

The Plateau State Police Command spokesman, DSP Alfred Alabo who confirmed the incident in a short statement, said the driver has been arrested as an investigation into the incident has begun and the suspect will be charged in court at the end of the investigation.

However, efforts to get the state Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer, Mr. Jonathan Zam to comment on the incident proved abortive as he neither picked up his calls nor responded to messages sent to his phone.