Pregnant Woman, Grandmother, and Granddaughter Among Victims in Fatal Ogun, Nigeria Road Crashes
In a tragic series of road accidents in Ogun State, Nigeria, a pregnant woman, a grandmother, and her granddaughter were among those killed.
The first accident occurred on Thursday night, August 22, 2024, in the Enugada area of Lafenwa, Abeokuta, the state capital. Six lives were lost when a truck reportedly lost control and crashed into vehicles, pedestrians, and other road users.
A circulating video showed the lifeless body of a pregnant woman, with her legs crushed, lying on the ground. Another video captured the body of an Okada rider with a crushed head, while a young woman was seen with severe abdominal injuries.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed the incident on Friday morning, but reported that only three people had died. According to FRSC spokesperson Florence Okpe, the cause of the crash was a brake failure, which led to the truck losing control and colliding with motorcycles. Three additional people were injured in the crash, with the deceased taken to the morgue and the injured receiving treatment at the State Hospital.
In a separate incident on Friday, August 23, in the Papalanto area of Ogun State, two more people were killed in a collision involving an Iveco Truck (KJA 166 XJ) and a Tricycle (TRE 627 VP). According to Babatunde Akinbiyi, spokesperson for the state-owned Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), the accident occurred in the early hours as the truck attempted to overtake the tricycle.
Eyewitnesses reported that the truck dragged the tricycle along its side before the tricycle fell in front of the truck, which then ran over it. The only occupants of the tricycle, a grandmother and her granddaughter, were killed on the spot. The truck driver fled the scene before he could be arrested.
Akinbiyi said the bodies of the deceased were handed over to their families, while the injured tricycle driver was taken to an unknown hospital by a good Samaritan. The vehicles involved in the crash were deposited at the Itori Divisional Police Command.
Akinbiyi extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and issued a warning to motorists about the dangers of reckless and dangerous driving.