Road grader crushes mother, child to death in Ondo community

The Ondo police command says a mother and her child were crushed to death by a road grader in Ose LGA of Ondo state.

Olushola Ayanlade, the police spokesperson in Ondo, said the incident occurred on Monday when a grader working on a road project in the LGA suffered brake failure and rammed into a woman and her child, who were on their way to the farm.

Ayanlade said the command had commenced an investigation into the incident.

“The incident is true. We have commenced investigation,” Ayanlade said.

In a statement on Monday, Clement Ojo, the LGA chairman, said the council had also launched a probe into the mechanical faults that led to the crash, adding that measures would be taken to prevent future incidents.

Ojo commiserated with the families of the deceased, noting that the project meant to improve livelihoods in the community has brought pain instead.

“The tragic accident occurred as a result of brake failure in a grader owned by the local government and deployed for road rehabilitation under our rural development programme,” Ojo said.

“This incident has brought great pain to all of us. What was intended as a noble effort to improve access and infrastructure within the community has now become a moment of intense grief.

“This is a loss that touches us all, not just as a government, but as members of one human family.

“A hard-working mother and her innocent child set out for the farm like any other day, only to have their lives cut short in the most heartbreaking way.

“No words can adequately express the sadness and regret we feel as a government and as a people.”