Twenty die in Ondo auto accident

No fewer than 20 passengers of a commercial bus yesterday met their untimely death in a ghastly accident along the Akure-Ilara Mokin-Ilesha Road in Ondo State.

The accident, which occurred around 7am according to eye witnesses, caused the death of five male adults, eight women, and seven children. Sympathisers and travelers wept profusely yesterday as the bodies of the victims were being evacuated by the men of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Several others who sustained various degrees of injuries were quickly rushed to the State Specialist Hospital, Akure, the state capital.

The FRSC officials said the accident occurred around 6.30am and involved a DAF Truck going towards Lagos and a Mazda commercial bus belonging to Obadigbo local government, which was heading towards Benue State.

It was gathered that the accident occurred when the truck driver, who was trying to avoid a deep pothole on the highway, swerved and lost control of the vehicle in the process, which made it to crash into the oncoming bus.

The sector commander of the FRSC in Ondo State, John Bekinbo Meheux, said the number of victims in the bus showed that the bus was overloaded. He explained that the accident could have been avoided if the drivers of the two vehicles had exercised some patience.

The Accident and Emergency Unit of the State Specialist Hospital, Akure, was besieged yesterday by people who wanted to know the identity of the victims and those searching for their relatives.

Mr Mehuex urged motorists to be more careful when driving, particularly at bad spots and avoid overspeeding. A similar accident which occurred on the same spot about two months ago claimed about 12 lives.