Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

Four persons lost their lives and another six persons were injured in a multiple road crash that occurred in Ibadan, which was said to have been caused by the heavy fog on Monday morning, January 22.

The accident occurred at the junction of Aba-Odo on Oyo-Ibadan Expressway at about 6:30a.m and it involved seven vehicles, comprising four trucks, one bus, one commercial cab and a private car.

When Daily Sun visited the scene, a combined team of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) led by the Sector Commander for Oyo State, Mrs. Cecilia Alao, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and men of Nigeria Police Force, were met at the scene, carrying out rescue operation.

A resident of Aba-Odo community, Mr. Seye Ayoade, said: “I was at Aba-Odo Bus Stop at the time the incident occurred.  I was going to a site for installation of sliding windows because that is my job. One Hyundai was coming from from Oyo going to Ibadan.

“The car was speeding but when it got to Aba-Odo junction, it slowed down probably because of the heavy fog. A micra cab, which was behind the car brushed the car that suddenly slowed down. But a truck, which was also on top speed, I think, could not see the front very well rammed into the cars and in the process the micra cab was also affected.

“In fact, the truck dragged the cab for about 200 metres before it fell down. Only the driver of the micra can survived, all the other passengers,  including an official of NSCDC, were crushed. So, other trailers also rammed into the scene.”

It was further gathered that the driver of a truck with Registration Number JIGAWA GML  85XX, died along with his motorboy. The truck had its head severed from its body and mangled beyond repair, and so was the commercial cab.

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Also, another eyewitness, Kabiru Aminu, told Daily Sun, “I was coming from Akinyele going to Ojoo. I was on a bike when it happened.  They were in front of me. There were two cars that hit each other in the front and there was fog. You could see the front very well.

“So, one trailer was coming and the micra was in its front. But when the micra stopped, the trailer’s brake failed, it hit the micra and killed all of them. Only the driver survived.”

Sector Commander of FRSC in the state, Mrs. Alao, told Daily Sun, the information made available to her showed that the accident was caused by heavy fog and overspeeding, saying: “From what we heard, it was due to the fog in the morning. There was heavy fog in the morning and one of the vehicles in front had an issue.

“The ones coming from behind did not know.  They didn’t see the front and we can’t remove it from the fact that some of them were on top speed. They were speeding, so they couldn’t apply their brakes on time.

“Seven vehicles were involved, comprising four trailers,  one bus and two small cars. Six people were injured and they were taken to the hospital while four people died, three male and one female.”

Those who lost their lives were said to have been taken  to the morgue of the State Hospital at Adeoyo, Ibadan, while the injured  persons were taken to St. Patrick Hospital, Ibadan.

Alao noted that the accident occurred because of the fog “and we always emphasise common sense when driving. When you cannot see your front clearly, you should use common sense. You should not be going at top speed such that if anything happens, you’ll be able to maneuver or apply your brake and stop before you hit what is in front of you.

“People should be careful. They should use common sense while driving. They should obey all rules and regulations and when the weather is not friendly, then the driver should use common sense to drive according to the dictate of the weather.”