By Popoola Ademola
Tragedy struck in Osogbo, Osun State capital, on Wednesday when a private car ran into a road side shop, killing an eight-year-old and injuring a pregnant woman in the process.
The incident happened at the Awosuru junction on the Capital-Aregbe road around 6p.m. on Wednesday.
Witnesses say the Toyota Camry, driven by an aged man, emerged from the Isopako axis of the crossroads with uncontrollable speed and rammed into the POS shop where the eight-year-old, identified as Asisat was sleeping.
Mr kehinde Hussain who was a witness at the incident narrated how he escaped the death too, “I had to jump to another side and clinched to the fence there when I noticed the car coming with full speed. He explained that it wasn’t a break failure as the man mistakenly accelerated instead of hitting on the break, which made it uncontrollable for the old man.
He further narrated how he managed to help the pregnant woman by carrying her when she fainted, he dropped her as others started splashing water on her. He said “I and a man called Azeez struggled with some others to help the old man out too, we found out the child was under the car 10 minutes after. No one suspected the child was there not until her mother started calling her out. He added that “the pregnant woman got injured in the leg but fainted because of the shock”
Asisat died in the attempt to get her to the hospital.
When this reporter visited the scene, a huge crowd had gathered; some attending to a pregnant woman who fainted after taking a hit from the car.
Another witness who was popularly known as AY fish, who sells dry and roasted fish at the junction said “she was crushed badly and couldn’t have survived it, she had been disfigured. Her waist had dislocated and she was bleeding much when we found her. He lamented “I saw as the car was coming uncontrolled, everyone was frightened and scream even before hitting the kiosk. Asisat mother wasn’t even aware she was inside the Kiosk because she just came out after the light went off, she told everyone she wanted to do her homework given to her from school and later fell asleep in the Kiosk probably after doing her homework”
A witness who claimed anonymity provided that she died on the way to the hospital. “She died in the car at aregbe while we were going”. He further by saying “she has not been buried because the cemetery had closed by the time they got there the night, so they had to take her to the mortuary to embalm her till the next morning”
This witness also explained his part of escape “ I was with the pregnant woman together in front of the POS kiosk to collect some cash, the pregnant woman was pressed and told me to please help watch he belongings while she go to pee, so I turned my back as the POS attendant also stepped out of the Kiosk to get change for the pregnant woman, I didn’t take too much take when I heard the sound of the car at my back crushing the Kiosk”
By 6:59pm some youth in the area have blocked the road threatening to lynch the driver of the unfortunate car. The police arrived shortly after to douse the tension.
The state police command is yet to make a statement on the incident.
Photos here…
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