Six people killed after being crushed by a trailer in Oyo

A petrol-laden trailer on Tuesday crushed six persons to death, including a motorcyclist, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The truck, said to be carrying 45,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, was also reported to have destroyed about five tricycles in the incident.

Our correspondent, who visited the scene and the Mapo Police Station, gathered that the accident occurred at the Fruits Market along the Oje–Beere route in the Ibadan South-East Local Government Area of the state.

Eyewitnesses attributed the crash to brake failure as the truck descended the busy Mapo–Beere–Oje road.

One of the affected tricycle riders, Ademola Aderibigbe, who sustained a minor leg injury, said he narrowly escaped death after his tricycle was hit by the tanker.

“I was very lucky. I had just left a mechanic workshop and was testing my tricycle around the Beere roundabout when I suddenly heard a loud noise. The impact pushed me aside. By the time I got out with an injury on my leg, the trailer had already sped off towards the Oje axis,” he said.

He added that several tricycles were crushed in the process.

Another eyewitness, Suleiman Oguntayo, lamented the recurring accidents along the route.

“The driver lost control at the Beere end of the road and ran over two tricycles, killing passengers before heading towards Oje market.

Efforts to stop the truck failed as it continued and killed more people there. The victims died on the spot, while others injured are receiving treatment in hospitals,” he said.

Oguntayo called on the state and local governments, as well as relevant enforcement agencies, to address the persistent accidents in the area.

At the Mapo Divisional Police Station, a grieving relative of one of the victims recounted the loss amid tears.

“My brother just named his daughter three days ago. I thought he would survive, but he later died in the hospital. He left behind a 10-day-old baby,” the relative said.

Another eyewitness, an okada rider identified simply as Gafaru, claimed that the death toll could be higher than reported, noting that some victims were yet to be identified.

Confirming the incident, a senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the case would be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Olayinka Ayanlade, also confirmed the accident but said the exact number of casualties had yet to be ascertained as of press time.