Road Accident Claims in Nine in Ogun, Oyo

James Sowole in Abeokuta and Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

No fewer than nine persons were yesterday confirmed dead in road accidents, which occurred along the Ibadan-Oyo and Abeokuta-Sagamu expressways.

Besides, 16 persons sustained varying degrees of injury as a result of the road crashes.

While the road crash along the Ibadan-Oyo expressway killed six persons in Afijio Local Government Area, Oyo State, the Abeokuta-Sagamu incident claimed three persons.

Multiple eyewitness accounts confirm the incident yesterday. One of the accounts claimed that  the driver of the 18-passenger white Toyota Hummer bus with number plate Lagos JJJ 941 XA, who was at a high speed, took off at the popular Akinyele market in Akinyele Local Government, Ibadan, before he suffered a tyre burst and lost control.

Findings further revealed that the occupants of the bus, all males, were heading towards the northern part of the country before the accident.

The Commander of the Atiba Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Bayode Olugbesan, confirmed that four persons died before the arrival of the corps members, while the injured were quickly rushed to the state General Hospital in Oyo.

Olugbesan, who attributed the cause of the accident to speeding and overloading, also confirmed that 20 persons were involved in the incident. He added that the corpses have been deposited at the mortuary.

He said, “All the victims are male and their destination is North. The cause of the crash was speeding and overloading. The bus was supposed to carry 14 passengers but was loaded with 20 passengers.”

In the case of the Abeokuta-Sagamu road crash, three persons were confirmed dead and two others suffered varying degree of injury yesterday in an accident involving a Rio car and a Sino truck.

The spokesperson of Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi confirmed the incident at a session with journalists in Abeokuta.

Akinbiyi explained that the accident occurred at 9:44 a.m. and was caused by excessive speed and loss of control on the part of the Rio car driver.

He added that the accident occurred near Day Waterman College and involved a black Rio car marked LAGOS  AKD 827 DV and a white Sino truck with registration number WDL 466 XA.

He explained that the car with four church officials was coming from Oke-Iragbiji in Osun State.

According to him, eyewitnesses said the driver lost control, due to excessive speed, ran over the median, and hit and uprooted the street light before colliding head-on with the truck loaded with cement.

He said: “The truck was coming to outbound Abeokuta. Instantly, the three men of God died due to the impact of the collision while the driver and the passenger in front were injured.”

Akinbiyi added that the injured victims were evacuated to Ijaye General Hospital in Abeokuta for treatment and the deceased were deposited at the hospital morgue.

He stated that the two vehicles had been taken to Owode-Egba Divisional Police Command for investigation.

TRACE’s spokesperson commiserated with the deceased families, calling on motorists to eschew excessive speed and always take adequate rest before embarking on a journey.