Three lives were lost in a road accident that occurred on Saturday along the Ife-Ilesa Expressway in Osun State, while about 20 people were injured in the crash.
The Osun Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Sunday Adebayo, who confirmed the casualty figure during a telephone interview with The PUNCH, said the two vehicles involved had a head-on collision.
Adebayo, who said the FRSC team arrived at the scene of the crash about five minutes after it occurred in the Tonkere area, blamed speeding and dangerous driving for the accident.
The Osun FRSC boss further disclosed that the two vehicles involved in the accident had been taken to the nearest police division to the scene of the accident, adding that the remains of the deceased were deposited at the morgue of Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa.
He also said the 20 injured commuters were taken to the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, and Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, also located in Ife, for medical attention.
Giving other facts about the accident, Adebayo said, “Three people died. Altogether, we have about 20 others who were injured in the crash.
“The deceased were two females and one male. We have 11 females in that vehicle and nine other males. Three children: two males, one female. All the other 20 sustained different degrees of injury.
“It was a head-on collusion involving a Toyota Hiace and a car. The incident happened around Tonkere between Ife and Ilesha. We mobilised our patrol vehicles from Ilesha and Ife for the rescue operation.
“Some of the survivors sustained minor injuries and were discharged. The vehicles have been moved to the police station in Ife, and the road has been cleared for movement. The response time from FRSC was five minutes. Our boys got to that place through one of the members of the public, and they quickly moved on because we were already on the road by the time the incident happened.”
Advising the road users against acts that can lead to accidents, Adebayo urged drivers not to engage in acts that would lead to avoidable loss of lives.
“If you look at the road structure at the time of the occurrence, you see that there is no reason for that high fatality. Nigerians need to change their attitudes on the road. Excessive speeding is killing. The accident happened due to over-speeding and dangerous driving
“There was no need for such an accident on the road if Nigerians can change their attitude. But we will continue to tell road users that they should change their attitude to the way they usually speed on the road,” the Sector Commander said.
He continued, “If you go at a lower speed, if you have cause to be involved in a crash, the fatality will not be as much as what we saw this morning. Nigerians should respect other road users.
“They should have this shared responsibility that everybody has a right to use the road. The person who is safe on arrival is the person who knows how to drive.”