Tragedy struck in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, on Monday morning as a bread distribution van reportedly knocked down and killed two middle-aged women along the Alao-Akala Memorial Highway, Randa area.
Eyewitnesses report that the van, belonging to the producers of Oluwabori Bread and bearing registration number Oyo AME 92 XB, was speeding when the victims attempted to cross the road.
“The two of them died instantly,” one of the witnesses recounted. “The van was moving at a very high speed; they couldn’t have survived the impact.”
Another source identified one of the victims as a local food vendor who sold ekuru (bean pudding) at the Osupa area of the town.
Reports further indicated that the driver did not stop after the fatal collision. However, commercial motorcyclists pursued and intercepted the vehicle before the driver was eventually apprehended.
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) later arrived at the scene and evacuated the remains of the victims.
In the same Ogbomoso, at least six persons died after an accident, which involved a truck and a commercial bus at Abuduka area along Ogbomoso-Ilorin expressway, in 2020.
The accident also left seven others sustaining various degrees of injuries. The victims were rushed to the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, for treatment.
It was gathered that the accident occurred in the morning when the truck driver lost control after the vehicle developed brake failure while negotiating a bend. According to an eyewitness, it was at this juncture that the truck rammed into a fully loaded 18-seater commercial bus, resulting in the death of six persons.
The eyewitness added that some of the passengers in the commercial bus were in a coma, saying, “I am not sure if any of the passengers in the bus can survive, though. Not all are dead, but the ones alive are in a coma.”
It was also gathered that attempts by the people of Abuduka to apprehend the driver of the truck over the accident failed as he reportedly forced his way out into a nearby bush and escaped from the area.
The eyewitness said: “When people tried to apprehend the truck driver, he brought out a knife, threatening to stab anybody who dared move closer before he took to his heels.”
The Oyo State Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mrs. Chukwura Uche Chidima, who confirmed the incident, said five male adults and one female adult lost their lives in the accident, adding that seven other passengers in the bus were injured and rushed to the teaching hospital by men of the command for treatment.
