It was a gloomy weekend in Ondo State as three separate tragic incidents struck in different parts of the state: A truck crushed an eight-year-old boy in Owena town; a commercial motorcycle rider drowned in flood, and a man reported died in a river.

The three incidents occurred in Owena town, Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State; Oke-Iya area of Ijoka, Akure and Uso town in Owo Local Government Area respectively.

Sunday Tribune gathered that the eight-year-old boy, who was said to be hawking solid pap on Saturday evening, was killed by a truck that lost control due to brake failure.

An eyewitness told Sunday Tribune that the truck was on a high speed, but by the time the driver tried to apply the brake, it failed and the vehicle eventually hit the boy.

It took the intervention of some travellers and sympathisers to remove the boy’s body from under the truck.

Youths from the town, who mobilised to the scene of the incident, were prevented by men of the Nigeria Police and Army from lynching the driver and setting the vehicle on fire.

Men of the state Police Command from Idanre later took the remains of the boy to the mortuary while the driver was taken into custody.

Also, following a downpour on Friday evening, a commercial motorcyclist died after he was swept away by flood in Oke-Iya area of Ijoka, Akure, the state capital.

The corpse of the motorcycle rider, identified as Idowu Akomolafe, was discovered in the early morning of Saturday by residents of the community.

It was gathered that the father of two, who was in his mid 30s, was swept off by the currents of the flood while trying to navigate the water on his way home.

The chairman of the landlords association of the community, Mr Adetunji Oluwapelumi, explained that the incident occurred due to diversion on the road over the ongoing construction.

He said the rain was falling heavily while the whole community was flooded and the late Akomolafe was trying to pass through the flooded road, but lost control of the motorcycle and got swept away by the flood.

In a similar incident, Sunday Tribune also gathered that a young man, Abiodun Olomiye, got drowned while swimming, on Saturday morning in a river in Uso town in Owo Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that Olomiye died before help could reach him while swimming in the river and his body was recovered by local divers.

A source said: “It was through the help of the local divers that his corpse was recovered after searching for him for hours.”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Femi Joseph, confirmed the incidents and said investigation into the matters had commenced.

“The corpse of the man who drowned in the river had been recovered and he had been buried at the river bank in line with the tradition of the town,” he said. (SUNDAY TRIBUNE)

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