Tragically, a fatal road accident has claimed the lives of at least 15 individuals along the Badagry-Ijanikin road in Lagos.
The incident occurred at around 7:31 am during heavy rainfall in various parts of Lagos State. The collision involved a truck bearing registration number AKM926YQ and a Mazda L2000 Bus with the marking MUS411XU.
Reportedly, the bus had been chartered by a group of individuals from Yaba who were headed to a party in Benin Republic, causing it to be fully loaded.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) indicated that a total of 24 people were involved in this unfortunate crash.
In an official statement released by the Public Education Officer of the Lagos sector command, Superintendent Route Commander Olabisi Sonusi, it was confirmed that 15 lives were lost, including nine adult males, five adult females, and one female child.
Fourteen individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, and their demise was subsequently confirmed at the hospital, while another person who was rushed to the hospital later succumbed to their injuries.
“Nine people sustained varying degrees of serious injuries ( five males, four females), one of them was reported to have later passed on at the hospital, and 14 were brought in dead from the crash scene. ‘The injured victims are currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Badagry. The dead victims have since been deposited at the morgue in the same hospital,” she said.
According to Sonusi, the Sector Commander, Babatunde Farinloye, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and encouraged them to visit the hospital for further necessary procedures.
Farinloye described the accident as preventable, stating that it could have been avoided if drivers had exercised common sense and employed defensive driving techniques.
“It was reported that the crash occurred as a result of speeding and overtaking by the drivers, who were moving in the opposite direction.
“This he said, resulted in the loss of control and head-on collision on the parts of the affected vehicles,” said Sonusi.”
According to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the tragic incident resulted in the loss of all 20 occupants of the bus, including the driver and his assistant.
The spokesperson for LASTMA, Taofik Adebayo, explained that the bus driver veered out of control upon encountering a truck ahead while trying to pass a tipper truck carrying sand.
He said: “In the tragic accident, 20 people died including the 18 passengers alongside the commercial bus driver and his motorboy.”
At the time of this update, the spokesperson confirmed that the bodies of the victims have been transported to the morgue at Badagry General Hospital.
