A motorcyclist and five other people were killed on Tuesday when a trailer carrying 45,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit lost control and ran over several tricycles in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Penpushing reports that eyewitness said several others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the crash which occurred at the Fruits Market along the Oje-Beere route in Ibadan South East Local Government Area.
The trailer reportedly suffered brake failure while descending the busy Mapo-Beere-Oje roads, while one of the affected tricycle drivers, Ademola Aderibigbe, who sustained minor leg injuries, said he narrowly escaped death.
“I was so lucky. I was around Beere roundabout, testing my tricycle after leaving the mechanic workshop, Suddenly, I heard a terrible sound pushing me aside. By the time I came out of the tricycle, the trailer was already heading towards the Oje axis’, he said.
Penpushing further reports that Aderibigbe explained that the truck crushed more than five tricycles, killing six people on the spot, adding that There was a woman whose remains were packed inside polythene,” he said.
The eyewitness, Suleiman Oguntayo, lamented the frequency of accidents on the route, aadding that the driver lost control at Beere end of the road, running over two tricycles and killing the passengers
“The driver lost control at Beere end of the road, running over two tricycles and killing the passengers before heading to the popular Oje market, where four more people died. Several others are receiving treatment at hospitals in town,” he said.
Penpushing also reports that a relative of one of the victims, speaking at Mapo Divisional Police Station, said the deceased had just christened his daughter three days ago, lamenting that his brother is gone and left behind a 10-day-old child,” the relative said, weeping.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, when contacted confirmed the accident but could not provide the final number of casualties.
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