It was indeed an unfortunate Christmas day tragedy as about 11 passengers lost their lives in two separate car crashes that occurred in Osun and Ogun States on Monday, December 25, 2023.
One of these devastating incidents happened along the Ikirun/Offa Expressway in Inisa, Odun State on Monday, with nine persons reported dead on the spot when their truck crashed headlong into the bush.
According to available reports, the truck driver reportedly lost control due to overspeeding and in the process veered off the road before ending up in the nearby bush with a calamitous effect.
The truck, carrying bags of beans and some passengers, was heading to Edo State from Niger State and all the victims unfortunately died on the spot following the deadly accident.
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun Command, Kehinde Adeleke, who spoke on the incident, said the crash occurred in the early hours of Monday at the Yidi Junction, Inisa, in Osun State.
Adeleke further explained thus; “Today, Monday, December 25, 2023, one Mitsubishi Canter with plate number MNA606SB NIGER carrying bags of beans from Niger State to Benin, Edo State was involved in an accident in the early hours, which resulted in the death of nine people out of 12.
“The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officers evacuated and moved the three injured passengers to Orotunde Hospital Ikirun, while the remains of the deceased were deposited at the hospital’s morgue.”
“Bags of beans and the vehicle involved have been evacuated to the Inisa Police Divisional Headquarters”, the NSCDC image maker volunteered.
Also, the second sad Christmas Day story came from Ogun State with reports indicating that two persons died in an accident that took place along the popular Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Eyewitness accounts said the road crash, which occurred after the Sagamu Interchange, before the Redemption Camp in Mowe, Ogun State, involved an 18-seater Hiace bus, traveling from the interchange en route to Mowe.
The FRSC, which confirmed the incident on Monday, said through its spokesperson in Ogun State, Florence Okpe, that officers of the Corps had evacuated the bodies.
Attributing the accident to wrongful overtaking by the bus driver, Okpe said; “The fatal crash occurred at about 1720 hrs on Christmas Day, involving 15 persons, which comprised of 12 male adults and three female adults. One person was injured and two persons were recorded dead (two male adults).
“Two vehicles were involved a Toyota bus with registration TSE266XA, and a Mazda bus marked FKJ215XX. The suspected causes of the crash were wrongful overtaking and overspeeding.”
He said; “The injured victim was taken to Idera Hospital for medical attention and the corpses were deposited at the same hospital’s morgue.”
Reacting to the incident, the FRSC Sector Commander in Ogun State, Anthony Uga, advised motorists to always shun speeding and focus maximum attention on the road while driving.
Uga, who sympathised with the families of the victims, however, urged them to contact the FRSC in Sagamu for more information about the deadly crash.
