It was a pathetic scene at the popular Uselu Lagos Road, by Uselu Market axis, in Benin City, the Edo State capital, on Tuesday evening when an articulated truck crushed Toyosi Ademola, a 12-year-old Primary 5 pupil of Oba Ewuare Primary School, to death.

The Guardian learnt that the incident occurred at about 6:00 p.m. in front of Uselu Market. An articulated truck from the Ugbowo-Lagos road axis into Benin hit the little girl standing by the pavement.

The girl had successfully crossed the road from the market and was moving to the other side of the road towards S&T Barracks when she was hit.

The deceased pupil was born on February 7, 2012.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the truck had some mechanical issues. While the driver was trying to control the situation, it hit the pavement, leading to the accident, which claimed the life of the pupil on the spot.

When The Guardian visited the scene, the articulated truck marked T9404 LA, which belonged to a haulage company in Lagos, was still there. Security agencies were stationed in the area to ensure that aggrieved residents and motorists did not burn the vehicle.

Narrating the situation, the distraught mother of the deceased, Ade, said she was with her daughter when the incident happened.

According to her, they had successfully finished business at the market and were returning home when the truck came from behind and hit her daughter as she stood on the pavement between the dual carriage highway.

She said: “We crossed from the Uselu market to the middle of the road on the pavement that divides the road, waiting to cross over to the other side of the road towards S&T Barracks road where we reside when the truck veered off the road and hit my daughter, killing her on the spot.

“She is in Primary 5 and a student of Oba Ewuare Primary School. I sell akara (bean balls) in the Uselu community. My daughter and I went to buy things for my akara business when the incident occurred.

“I am a very poor woman. My husband is a private driver working for an individual in the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR). We do not have help. I sell akara to help take care of the children. Now, sadly, while I was looking for daily bread to provide for my family, I have lost my dear child.”

On his part, the deceased’s father, Mr Ademola, said he was at work when someone called him on the phone, saying that his child, who joined her mother to get something from the market, was knocked down by a truck and she died on the spot.

According to him, the truck had mechanical issues, so it navigated toward his daughter, standing on the pavement alongside the mother.

Ademola said the remains of his daughter have been deposited in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) morgue by the police, while the driver of the truck is reportedly in custody at the Textile Mill Road Police Division.

Ademola, who resides at No 46 S&T Barracks Road, opposite Uselu market, appealed to well-meaning Nigerians and Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki to help his family.

He stressed that all they need is assistance to bury the child and upkeep for the other children. (The Guardian, excluding headline)

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