There would be no new year and, indeed, no life anymore for a pregnant woman, simply identified as Mrs Funmilayo, and 11 other persons as they were crushed to death by a truck at the second gate, Gbagi Tuntun market, along the Ife-Ibadan road, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Although the police and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) gave conflicting details of the accident, both agencies confirmed it, saying many people were killed.
While the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adekunle Ajisebutu, told Eko Trust that the death casualty was 11, a comprehensive report obtained from the office of the Sector Commander of the FRSC, Cecilia Alao, indicated that 12 people died as a result of the accident and their corpses had been deposited at the Oyo State Specialist Hospital, Adeoyo, morgue.
The report also indicated that 10 injured victims were conveyed to Toun Specialist Hospital, Iwo Road, for urgent medical attention.
The accident, which, according to eyewitnesses and the FRSC boss, occurred at 11.45pm on Monday, and involved people going to churches for the cross-over night at Iyana-Agbala and Egbeda areas of Ibadan.
Eyewitness accounts revealed that a bus belonging to one ‘Orobo Baba Welder’ had loaded passengers at the fateful spot and was about to embark on its journey when a long truck en route Iwo Road from the Ife axis careered off its path and smashed into it, crushing the passengers.
The motor boy of the bus, Waris Olatunde, who spoke with Eko Trust, said he narrowly escaped death from the accident because his boss, the driver of the vehicle (Orobo Baba Welder), had paid him N200 and asked him to go away.
“It was only God that saved me. Usually, I used to collect money for him from the passengers before he leaves the park. But in this case, he said since it was late already, I should take N200 and leave. He told me that he would collect the money himself on the road. The man just closed the side door of the vehicle and before he could enter from the driver side, the trailer had run over to where the bus was parked, killed everyone in the vehicle. Even a Camry and a mini bus were also crushed,” Olatunde said.
Mrs Iseoluwa Opeyemi, a neighbour of the pregnant woman killed in the accident, was seen weeping uncontrollably. Opeyemi told our correspondent that the deceased, popularly called Funmi-Iya-Funmilayo, was on her way to her mother-in-law’s house at Iyana-Agbala when the accident happened.
She said, “Mama Funmi was a very hardworking woman. They just moved into their new house last Saturday. She came to our house and told us she was going to her mother- in-law’s house, not knowing she was going to die. Her son, who was also involved in the crash is now at the hospital. I was there this morning and the boy is recuperating, though his head was partially damaged. I pray the little boy survives this.”
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