Four killed as truck crushes mother, children in Ibadan

FOUR people, including a woman and her two children, were on Tuesday morning crushed to death by a truck at the Agbole Oluwo, Oja’ba end of the Molete-Agodi Gate Road in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The driver of the vehicle with registration number AGL 883 XQ who had been arrested by the police, was said to have lost control of the vehicle while descending the slope on the Mapo-Oja’ba Road after which he ran into a Nissan Micra car with registration number GGE 235 DR and four tricycles, whose occupants sustained various degrees of injuries.

According to an eyewitness, Alhaja Aminat Bioku, “it was just like a movie scene. The truck, after the driver had lost control of the vehicle probably due to brake failure, hit a woman and her two children, who all died on the spot. The truck also hit four tricycles, one of the tricycles got burnt leaving the occupants injured.

“I also saw a pregnant woman being brought out from under the truck, but she was not dead, she only got injured.”

Speaking with Metro at the scene of the accident, Caretaker Chairman, Ibadan South-West Local Government, Honourable Rafiu Folarin, said it was time the government took adequate step to forestall future occurence of such accident.

“As soon as we got the information about the accident, we got in touch with relevant authorities to move to the scene. We were able to get the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other law enforcement agencies. Kudos must also be given to them for their prompt response too.

“Let me also use this opportunity to tell you that the government will do something urgent to reduce the rate at which lives are being lost on the road oftentimes as a result of street trading. Had it been that the occupants of the shops which the truck ran into were around, only God knows how many lives would have been lost by now,” he added.

While confirming the arrest of the driver of the truck, The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, hinted that the driver was in police custody and the accident was under investigation.

He informed that four persons died as a result of the accident and their bodies had been deposited at the Adeoyo Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Ajisebutu further stated that three victims who sustained injuries had also been taken to Adeoyo Hospital, as well as UCH, Ibadan, for medical treatment.

According to him, the truck, Nissan Micra car and four tricycles involved in the

accident had also been taken to the police station for VIO inspection.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State government has commiserated with families of the victims of Tuesday morning truck accident at Oja’ba area of Ibadan, which claimed four lives.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun,  described as “very unfortunate’’ the fatal accident in which several other people were injured.

He appealed to the people of the state to stop street trading, which could endanger the lives of the citizenry.

Arulogun also cautioned against reckless driving and appealed to residents to be safety-conscious.