Tragedy
struck on Saturday at Wasimi Village on the old Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway after
two women lost their lives, while four others were injured in a road accident.
Also,
seven persons died on Sunday at Fidiwo, Ogun State end of the Lagos-Ibadan
Express in a separate road accident.
The
Saturday accident involved a Nissan saloon car with number plate, SZ 171 AAA,
and an IVECO truck with number plate, SRA 546 XA, loaded with granite.
PUNCH
Metro learnt that the occupants of the Nissan car were on their way back
to Lagos from Ilaro in the Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State,
where they had gone to attend a party, when rain started.
According
to eyewitnesses, the woman driving the car lost control when the driver of the
granite-laden truck coming behind hooted the vehicle’s horn to pave the way for
its passage on the double-carriage road.
It was
further gathered that the truck driver, while trying to avoid the car, crashed
into the median and fell on the car, emptying its content on the highway and on
the car.
The
victims’ car was said to have been covered by the granite and those who were
alive were seen waving through the granite.
Our
correspondent learnt that the entourage of the Speaker of the Ogun State House
of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi, and the newly promoted Assistant Inspector-General
of Police, Zone 2, Abdulmajid Ali, went to the rescue of the victims.
Also
involved in the rescue operation was a former Chairman of the Abeokuta North
LGA, Abeeb Ajayi.
Both
Adekunbi and Ali, who were on their way to Abeokuta, immediately contacted the
men of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency and Federal
Road Safety Corps.
PUNCH
Metro learnt that a passing truck with number plate, EPE 231 XJ, was used
to pull the truck off the car after efforts by sympathisers proved abortive.
Four
female occupants were said to have been pulled out of the car, with two of them
rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, while the others were
rushed to the Ifo General Hospital.
The
remains of the two dead female passengers were also removed from the vehicle
and taken to the Ifo General Hospital mortuary.
Both the
state Sector Commander of the FRSC, Adegoke Adetunji, and the Public Relations
Officer of TRACE, Babatunde Akinbiyi, blamed the truck driver for speeding.
The FRSC
boss said, “I don’t want to link the incident to the weather, but this is a
rainy season and the road is always wet; the tyres will not have good grip on
the road like when the road is dry.
“My
advice to motorists is to obey the speed limit. If they know the weather is not
conducive, they shouldn’t be in a hurry; they should obey the speed limit and
have consideration for other road users. They should also desist from using
fairly-used tyres.”
In the
Sunday crash, seven persons were said to have died, while nine others were
injured in an auto crash at the Fidiwo area on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Adetunji
said the accident occurred around 12 noon. He said the casualties were
four males, two females and a child.
He
explained that the crash involved a Mazda 18-seater passenger bus and a truck.
“The
accident happened at a section where there was a diversion of traffic to a
single lane due to ongoing construction work on the road,” he added.
The
Ogunmakin Unit Commander, FRSC, Mr. David Ogunjana, who was at the accident
scene, observed that the crash occurred due to wrongful overtaking.
He said
the driver of the Mazda bus heading for Ibadan overtook wrongfully and the bus
ran into the oncoming truck.
He gave
the number plate of the Mazda bus as, SKJ 958 SP, while the truck was marked,
XB 219 PTN.
Labels: Auto crashes in Ogun, four injured in Ogun auto crashes, Nine die
