[Left][b]No fewer than nine people, including the bus
driver, reportedly died on the spot.
Three other passengers, who sustained
serious injuries, were said to have been taken
to the Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada.
The driver of the truck reportedly fled the
scene after seeing the enormity of the
fatality.
PUNCH Metro learnt that an angry mob,
which besieged the scene, set fire to the truck
and injured an official of the Lagos State
Emergency Management Agency.
Firefighters from the Lagos State Fire Service
later put out the fire as the Lagos State
Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni,
appeased the youths.
A witness and bus driver, who identified
himself simply as Kunmi, said the incident
happened around 10pm, adding that nine
persons died.
Kunmi, who spoke in Yoruba, explained that
the failure of the truck driver to put a sign on
the road to indicate that his vehicle had
broken down, led to the tragedy.
He said, “The bus was coming from Ajah/
Lekki area en route to Oshodi. It was on the
Third Mainland Bridge, moving toward
Oworonsoki. There was, however, a truck that
had broken down on the road. The engine
was still running.
“The driver of the bus, who did not see the
truck, rammed into it.
“People were not willing to stop their vehicles
to assist the victims. I met some policemen
on the ground. We used my spanner to break
open the door. But the passengers were
trapped. We wanted to use my vehicle to pull
the bus from the truck, but we couldn’t. We
later stopped another truck, which assisted
us.
“A rescue agency later brought a
sledgehammer that we used to open up the
vehicle and bring out nine bodies, including
that of the driver, Segun. The driver still had
the fares he collected in his hand. He didn’t
have a conductor. We left the scene around
2am on Thursday.”
Kunmi said policemen from the Adekunle
division and officials of the Lagos State
Traffic Management Authority, LASEMA, and
the State Environmental Health Monitoring
Unit were part of the rescue operation.
He said three survivors, who were in critical
conditions, were taken in an ambulance to
the Gbagada General Hospital.
An official of LASTMA, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, however, claimed
that eight people died, saying their remains
were mangled.
The official said the Lagos CP gave some
money to the family of the driver, who
insisted on taking the body to Ibadan, Oyo
State, for burial.
He said, “The driver of the bus was at top
speed when he rammed into the stationary
truck. About 80 per cent of the bus was
crushed and that was why the driver and
passengers on the first three rows died on
the spot. Three people at the back, who did
not die, lost their limbs.
“SEHMU wanted to take all the corpses to the
mortuary, but the friends and family members
of the driver insisted on taking him to Ibadan
the same night. The Lagos CP, Owoseni, gave
them some money and asked a police escort
to follow them.”
The LASTMA official said a mob, made up of
sympathisers and some hoodlums, set fire to
the truck that caused the accident.
He said the mob wanted to cause more
destruction but the police boss urged them to
be calm, assuring that justice would be
served.
The General Manager of LASEMA, Michael
Akindele, said five people died in the
accident.
He said, “According to the investigation
conducted by LASEMA’s Emergency Response
Team, the commercial bus rammed into the
stationary truck while speeding.
“The vehicle was later extricated by the ERT,
and five male bodies were recovered dead.
Six other adult male victims were rescued
alive with severe injuries. They were taken to
the Accident and Emergency Centre (Trauma
Centre) and the Gbagada General Hospital by
LASAMBUS.
“The dead bodies were also removed by
SEHMU to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary,
except the bus driver whose body was
released at the request of the family
members and friends through the intervention
of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police,
who was present at the scene of the
accident.”
Akindele said the mob that burnt the truck
also injured an official of the agency, adding
that the state firefighters put out the fire.
The LASEMA boss, while commiserating with
the families of the deceased, urged motorists
to be cautious while driving at night.
A top official of the Gbagada General
Hospital said three victims were brought to
the hospital.
“Three of the accident victims were brought
to the hospital; none of them died. Two are
fully conscious; they had bruises. One is still
unconscious,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP
Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident,
adding that investigations were ongoing.
She said, “We are investigating the case. The
CP was at the scene of the incident. It was
an accident that could have been prevente."[/b][/left] http://saharareporters.com/2016/06/17/nine-die-lagos-crash-mob-burns-truck