An eyewitness who identified himself as Lanre Agunla, while speaking with newsmen at the scene of the accident, said that the vehicle was coming from the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, taking the New Garage entrance to Ibadan when the driver of the articulated vehicle suddenly lost control and crashed into the taxi.
Agunla said, “Around 6.20pm on Saturday, the driver of the articulated vehicle lost control of the vehicle and ran into a Toyota Micra taxi and a commercial tricycle before hitting some retail shops. Seven people died on the spot, while five people were injured. The scene was gory with body parts everywhere.”
However, the Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, claims that only two people died, while four others sustained injuries in the accident, Daily Post reports.
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According to Daily Post, the Oyo police PPRO said the corpses of the two accident victims have been deposited at the Adeoyo State Hospital morgue, while the injured persons are currently undergoing treatment at the Ibadan Central Hospital.
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Ajisebutu also said that the driver of the articulated vehicle fled the scene of the accident.
“We are yet to ascertain the company that owns the vehicle because the driver escaped. His assistant was arrested and helping our investigation into the incident,” he said.
In a similar occurrence, a trailer loaded with iron rods collided with another trailer loaded with cement which was parked on the side of the road, claiming the lives of two persons.
