An unidentified taxi driver yesterday knocked down an elderly man and fled the scene at Isale-Ake, near the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, in Abeokuta South Local Council of Ogun State.

Eyewitnesses said the victim was attempting to cross the road when he was struck by a speeding taxi. The impact reportedly shattered the vehicle’s windscreen before the driver sped off.

A witness and member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Ake branch, Lukmon Babatunde, said the driver initially stopped and stepped out of his car but quickly drove away after realising the extent of the accident.

Babatunde said he and other bystanders moved the injured man from the middle of the road to prevent other vehicles from running over him.

Another witness, Adedoja Hassan, said the accident occurred about two hours before rescue efforts began, expressing surprise that the victim was still breathing.

She explained that the scene of the incident was close to Oba Ademola Hospital, Ake, but passersby were reluctant to take the man there for fear that he might die on the way.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, said he had yet to receive a report of the incident.

At press time, the elderly man was still alive, while officials of the Abeokuta South Local Council had reportedly been contacted to convey him to the hospital for treatment.