Three people were killed and about 20 others injured in a road accident along the Ife-Ilesa Expressway in Osun State on Saturday.
The crash occurred in the Tonkere area of the highway and involved a Toyota Hiace bus and a car, which collided head-on.
The Osun State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Sunday Adebayo, confirmed the casualty figure in a telephone interview, saying the agency’s rescue team arrived at the scene about five minutes after the accident occurred.
According to Adebayo, the crash was caused by excessive speeding and dangerous driving.
“Three people died. Altogether, we have about 20 others who were injured in the crash,” he said.
He identified the deceased as two females and one male. He added that the injured victims sustained varying degrees of injuries, with some who suffered minor injuries later discharged from hospital.
Adebayo said the injured commuters were taken to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital in Ile-Ife and Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, also in Ile-Ife, for treatment.
He disclosed that the bodies of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue of Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa.
The two vehicles involved in the crash were subsequently removed from the scene and taken to the nearest police station in Ile-Ife for further investigation.
“ It was a head-on collision 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,” Adebayo said.
He added that the road had been cleared and traffic movement restored after the rescue operation.
The FRSC commander expressed concern over the frequency of crashes caused by reckless driving and urged motorists to reduce their speed and exercise greater caution on the highway.
“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,” he said.
Adebayo stressed that motorists should recognise their responsibility to other road users and obey speed limits to reduce the severity of crashes.
“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,” he added.
He urged motorists to prioritise safety, noting that responsible driving could prevent avoidable deaths and injuries on Nigerian roads.
