A female passenger on a motorcycle, Temitope (surname withheld), died of injuries on Friday, while another female passenger, Bola (surname withheld) and the rider, Tunde (surname also withheld) were severely injured on Apete Road, Ibadan, Oyo State, when the driver of an unregistered Hyundai Sonata car, Oluwaponmile, collided with the motorcycle while trying to avoid a bad portion of the road.
In the accident, which occurred at about 6:50pm, the two females had the flesh around their feet mangled.
The vehicle driver, who got saved by his car’s airbag, was however descended on by a mob and was almost lynched before he was rescued by the police officers of Apete Division.
Sunday Tribune learnt that the driver of the vehicle was going inward to the Apete community while the motorcycle rider conveying the two female passengers was on the other lane when the incident occurred.
The driver reportedly left his lane so as to avoid the damaged spot in front of him through the left side.
However, he collided with the bike and threw it with its rider and passengers into a ditch.
Having lost control, the car got smashed into a concrete electric pole and the vehicle made 180 degrees turnaround, with its airbag out.
The women, the injured rider and the car driver were later put inside the police vehicle and taken to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, where Temitope later succumbed to the injuries.
Not satisfied with beating the driver, the mob descended on the already damaged vehicle and vandalized it before they were chased away by police officers.
Found in the car were a broken shisha pot, its hose-like pipe, bottles of gin, new clothes and perfumes, among other items.
Not satisfied, the mob regrouped and threatened to set the car ablaze, causing the Apete Division to call for reinforcement.
With no availability of a towing vehicle to keep the car safe at the police station, the state command of Federal Road Safety Corps was called upon, but two officials who came to the scene said that they could not help as they only had one that could only tow trucks.
The Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency, which promised to come when called through a top government official, did not appear until 11:00 p.m. when Sunday Tribune left the scene.
It was later learnt that a good-spirited member of the public eventually helped in getting a towing vehicle operator who eventually took the vehicle to the police station around midnight.
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