On Wednesday, residents of Kuola/Aba Paanu area of Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State, witnessed an accident that shook the community. MARUFH BELLO, who was at the scene of the accident, reports.

Wednesday was a day of sorrow for the people of Kuola/Aba Paanu area of Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State, as a truck lost control and rammed into a jeep, claiming the lives of the occupants of the jeep.

Just before the accident, there was a drizzle, which lasted for almost 20 minutes. It was not a downpour because as it rained, the weather was bright at the same time as the sun kept shining.

A jeep, with Lagos registration number, BQ 166 KSF, reportedly belonging to a private school, located a few metres from the scene of the accident, was, according to a source, returning from a trip where it went to drop some pupils of the school.

According to eyewitnesses, the truck, also with Lagos registration number BH 95 SMK, lost control while descending a slope.

As it lost control, the driver, in an effort not to ram into the jeep in the front, swerved but faced another oncoming truck and ended crushing the jeep from behind.

As soon as the accident occurred, eyewitnesses said the driver of the truck and other occupants fled the scene. Meanwhile, residents of the area and passers-by moved to rescue occupants of the jeep.

Much as they tried, they did not make much headway and had to look for instruments like axes and diggers to break into the jeep in order to rescue the trapped occupants. Nevertheless, all their efforts   proved abortive.

Later, men of the Nigeria Police appeared on the scene around 4.00 p.m., an hour after the accident took place. They also tried their best but did not succeed in rescuing the trapped people. Between 5.00 p.m. and  6.00 p.m., members of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) also arrived the scene with four pick-up vans. The vehicles proved inadequate for the job at hand because what was needed was a towing vehicle with crane. For almost three hours, the men  worked tirelessly.

Between 6.00 and 7:30 p.m., two private towing trucks were brought, yet the task was too enormous for them. In fact, when one of the trucks was coming for rescue efforts, it went up in flames. It took the efforts of on-lookers to put out the fire.

Rescue only came at about 9:40 p.m. when another towing vehicle was brought in, which removed the truck from the top of the jeep. Initially, nobody knew the number of the occupants of the jeep.

They were initially suspected to be four persons including school pupils. But when the truck was removed from the jeep, there were two people – a driver and another man who was said to be the school proprietor’s younger brother.

The driver, who hailed from Benue State, died instantly when the accident occurred. Though eyewitnesses said the proprietor’s younger brother was still breathing as of that time, but it was later confirmed that he died on the way for medical attention.

Men of the Nigeria Police, FRSC and Oyo State Fire Service did not leave the spot until the carcasses of the vehicles were removed from the road.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune,  residents of the area said apart from the fact that the truck lostcontrol, truck drivers who ply the road, usually young men of between 18 and 25,  drive recklessly on the newly inaugurated road.

They added that the road had been suffering from the heavy weight and pressure of the large vehicles. They also complained about the narrowness of the road and overspeeding by commercial motorcyclists plying the road.

A resident who wants to remain  anonymous said: “If the road was not too narrow, maybe this accident would have been averted because vehicles find it difficult to move side by side, let alone having two trucks at the same time.”