The Ogun State Sector of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed the death of nine people in two separate road crashes in the state.
Public Education Officer of the sector, Florence Okpe, noted in a statement on Saturday that the accidents occurred on Saturday around Ijebu Ife and Ijebu Ode towns while two others were injured.
The first crash occurred in very early in the morning when the weather was dark while the second crash occurred a few hours later on the same corridor at Ijebu Ife.
“The people involved in the crash were seven comprising six male adults and one female adult. The people injured in the crash were two, made up of one male adult and one female adult,” the statement said.
Two persons died from the injuries sustained in the first crash which involved two vehicles – Toyota picnic car and a DAF truck.
According to the Okpe, the crash was suspected to have been caused by armed robbery attacks when the driver of the Toyota car suddenly reversed on the highway upon sighting the armed robbers and in the process, the oncoming truck rammed into it.
She, however, said the injured victims were taken to the General Hospital in Ijebu-Ode while the bodies of the dead were deposited at the same hospital.
“The second crash occurred at about 0820hrs on the Ijebu-Ode – Sagamu Expressway, also at Ijebu Ife.
“Nineteen people were involved in the crash – three male adults and 16 female adults – and 10 people were injured while seven died in the crash, comprising one male adult and six female adults,” the statement added.
The FRSC official noted that the accident involved two vehicles – a Mack tanker and a Toyota Hiace commuter bus coming from Okitipupa, Ondo State.
She said the crash was a head-on collision as the bus due to excessive speed could not manoeuvre the diversion point and in the process collided head-on with the truck.
“The injured victims were rescued to the General Hospital Ijebu-Ode for medical treatment and the bodies of the dead victims deposited at the same hospital,” Okpe added.
The FRSC Ogun State Sector Commander, Clement Oladele, had commiserated with the families of the victims and urged them to visit the medical institutions or the command for details of the crashes
He also urged motorists to drive cautiously and within approved speed limits and resist dangerous overtaking to avoid a reoccurrence of the crashes.