By Ade Oyeyemi
The Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, has expressed grief over the death of a National Youth Service Corps member, Oluwatosin Abidakun, who was killed in a road crash involving an articulated truck in Ibadan.
Abidakun reportedly died on Monday after a truck rammed into the motorcycle conveying her and another corps member around the Agodi Gardens area of Ibadan North Local Government Area.
Her colleague sustained injuries in the crash and is receiving treatment at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
The deceased had only recently resumed her primary assignment at the Oyo State House of Assembly and was reportedly returning home after work when the incident occurred.
In a statement issued in Ibadan on Tuesday, Ogundoyin described her death as a devastating loss, noting that she had begun her national service with hopes and aspirations for the future.
He said the tragedy was painful not only for Abidakun’s family and friends but also for the state legislature, where she had recently started her service year.
The Speaker extended his condolences to the bereaved family, friends, colleagues and fellow corps members, praying for strength for them to cope with the loss.
He also expressed concern over the condition of the surviving corps member and prayed for a full and speedy recovery.
Meanwhile, preliminary accounts of the incident suggested that the truck might have been involved in earlier collisions around the Sango area of Ibadan before reaching Agodi Gardens.
Eyewitnesses told The PUNCH that the articulated vehicle allegedly hit several vehicles around Sango before continuing towards Agodi, where it struck the motorcycle carrying the two corps members.
One eyewitness claimed that the driver was attempting to escape after the earlier collisions when the fatal crash occurred.
The Federal Road Safety Corps confirmed the death and the evacuation of the victims to medical facilities.
The FRSC Sector Commander in Oyo State, Kehinde Dahunsi, said the female corps member died in the crash, while the motorcycle rider sustained a leg injury.
He explained that the deceased was taken to the morgue at Adeoyo Hospital, while the injured survivor was transported to the University College Hospital for treatment.
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Dahunsi also said reports indicated that the truck had been involved in earlier collisions around Sango, adding that the drivers whose vehicles were allegedly hit had pursued it before the fatal incident.
The circumstances surrounding the earlier collisions and the crash at Agodi Gardens remain subject to further investigation.
