A yet-to-be-identified commercial driver has crushed a pupil to death in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State. The tragic incident necessitated weeping and wailing by the parents and other family members of the deceased at the scene on Friday afternoon.
The accident occurred at the Ijetu area of Osogbo. The victim, a young boy, simply identified as a pupil of Oxford Nursery and Primary School in the area, wanted to cross the road before the speeding vehicle hit him.
Eyewitnesses at the scene of the accident informed our correspondent that the driver quickly abandoned the vehicle and ran away. A few minutes after the parents of the boy were summoned to evacuate his remains, it was said that the driver had reported himself at Oke-Baale Police Division and that he was detained thereafter.
A police officer who was in mufti later arrived at the scene with a towing vehicle and took the grey-coloured Sienna bus to the station. The mother and other relatives of the boy couldn’t be consoled as they sobbed profusely.
It was gathered that the boy had attempted to cross the double-lane road to the other side alongside his friend after the school had closed for the day.
There were two boys in their school uniforms. They just closed their school for the day. I presumed they were going to purchase something from the provision store opposite their school before the boy was crushed by the Sienna car.
“The first boy had crossed and was waiting for his friend. While he was waiting for the speeding Sienna car to pass, the driver lost control, rammed into the boy who was standing very close to the median, and crushed him to death.
“When I ran to the scene, I saw the boy in a pool of his blood, and his books were scattered on the road. It was a tragic scene. People gathered, and we had to wait until the parents arrived and took him away. The driver immediately ran away and abandoned his car. I suspect overspeeding because the car ran over the median for a long distance.”
Sympathisers at the scene warned motorists against speeding, lamenting that drivers are in the habit of reckless driving on the road.