• Bus kills man fixing vehicle by roadside
No fewer than 13 persons died in two separate accidents yesterday on the Oloru-Bode Saadu road, on the outskirts of Ilorin, Kwara State.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander in Kwara, Jonathan Owoade, confirmed this to newsmen at the scene of the crashes in Bode Saadu. He said the accidents occurred as a result of the driver’s loss of concentration, speeding, and tyre burst.
"Two road crashes occurred this morning at the Jebba-Oloru axis, one was due to speeding and boredom. The driver rammed his bus into a stationary truck about 4:00 a.m. at Aiyekale community while the second was as a result of tyre burst," he said.
According to him, out of 19 passengers, 11 persons died on the spot, one died in the hospital while seven sustained different degrees of injury.
He also said the second accident, which was as a result of tyre burst, happened at Lakanla bridge. Eight persons were involved and one person died.
The FRSC commander also revealed that the bodies had been deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital morgue and those who sustained injuries were receiving treatment. He, however, cautioned motorists against night journeys and reckless driving to protect their lives and those of the passengers.
"Trucks should compulsorily use reflectors when parked by roadsides or highways, overloading should be avoided, they overburden the tyres and cause them to burst. Drivers should avoid night journeys, they have to be more careful, life has no duplicate. There is nothing bad in stopping the journey when night falls," he added.
Meanwhile. one person has been confirmed dead in an accident that occurred around Isara bridge, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. A bus was said to have rammed into two men who were by the roadside fixing the axle problem of their trailer.
While one person died, two others were said to have sustained serious injuries in the crash involving five persons. The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement (TRACE) Corps confirmed this to newsmen yesterday.
The accident, which occurred about 1:30 p.m., involved an Iveco trailer with registration number, KTU 608 XW and a Ford bus marked, LND 631 XX.
The Ogun TRACE spokesman, Babatunde Akinbiyi, blamed the crash on reckless driving or lack of concentration on the part of the bus driver, as it "rammed into a stationary trailer fixing its axle problem."
Akinbiyi said: "We learnt the commercial bus was chartered by the two passengers in it along with the driver to purchase eggs in Lagos, when, due to lack of concentration and reckless driving, it rammed into a stationary trailer, whose axle problem was being fixed by the driver and the motor boy in the middle of the road.
"One of the passengers in the bus died on the spot while the driver and the other passenger are recuperating in Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, OOUTH, Sagamu."
The two vehicles have been taken to the Police Motor Traffic Division, Ode-Remo, it was learnt.
