A housewife, identified as Bimpe Awotiku, was crushed by a truck in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday.
The accident occurred at the hill top dual carriage road between Guaranty Trust Bank and Mobile 16 Base, located in the Oke-Ilewo area of the town. Witnesses say the heavily loaded truck was fast descending the steep road, while Mrs Awotiku was driving up hill. The victim, who was in the car with her two children, tried to get out of the path of the speeding truck before the impact. The truck fell on the car and trapped the occupants, however the two children were rescued from the trapped car unhurt. The truck’s impact on the drivers side of the car was greater.
For hours, witnesses tried to extricate the unconscious woman. Medical personnel deployed to the scene tried unsuccessfully to revive her with the aid of an oxygen mask. As at the time of going to press, a crane brought by the state government to remove the truck was unable to do so. The victim, reportedly a staff of the Nigerian Meteorology Department, remained in the car.
The children were taken to a hospital, while officials of the Fire Services, Nigerian Police, Federal Road Safety Commission, continued the rescue efforts. “On getting to the spot, we were told the driver of the truck had already run away,” said a police officer at the scene who did not want to give his name. “We quickly chased after the direction he was heading to and brought him down. He is in the cell now.
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