A distraught father, Rufus Farotimi, has appealed to relevant authorities for justice and support after a truck reportedly crashed into his residence in Aramoko-Ekiti, Ekiti State, killing his son and leaving his family homeless.
Farotimi made the appeal following the incident which occurred on March 26 at Oke-Ila, where a heavy-duty truck rammed into his house and killed his 21-year-old son, Promise Farotimi, said to be a 300-level student of Building Technology at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.
Speaking on the development, the grieving father described the incident as a devastating double tragedy, noting that he lost both his child and his home in the crash.
He lamented that the impact of the accident had left him with virtually nothing, adding that he now depends on relatives for basic needs.
Farotimi said the truck driver fled the scene immediately after the incident, while residents were only able to apprehend his assistant, commonly referred to as an “operator boy.”
He disclosed that documents recovered from the truck, including waybills, indicated that the vehicle was conveying natural gypsum and bore a company’s identity, with the driver identified as Shuaibu Yusuf.
While acknowledging that security operatives responded by evacuating the remains of the deceased and commencing an investigation, he expressed concern that the driver was still at large days after the tragedy.
The bereaved father urged law enforcement agencies to intensify efforts to track down the fleeing suspect and compel the company linked to the truck to accept responsibility.
He also called for the immediate removal of the damaged vehicle from his property, noting that it remained at the scene several days after the crash.
Farotimi further decried the condition of the road, describing it as dilapidated and dangerous, especially with the frequent movement of speeding heavy-duty trucks.
A community leader, Mrs Caroline Ogunleye, who spoke on the incident, attributed the tragedy to reckless driving and the poor state of the road, warning that similar accidents had become frequent in the area.
She recalled a previous incident in the community that claimed the lives of two siblings and noted that another accident was recorded shortly after the latest crash.
Ogunleye urged companies operating heavy-duty vehicles to ensure proper maintenance of their trucks and employ qualified drivers, while also calling on the government to urgently rehabilitate the road and enforce speed control measures.
Findings indicated that the Ado-Aramoko-Itawure Road, a major federal highway in Ekiti State, serves as a key link between Ado-Ekiti, Efon-Alaaye and Ilesa in Osun State, and is heavily used by trucks transporting goods across the South-West and other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Command, SP Sunday Abutu, confirmed that the case had been transferred to the State Traffic Section for detailed investigation, adding that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing driver.