Tragedy struck on Wednesday as 13 people lost their lives in an accident involving a white Mazda bus and a blue Volvo truck on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It was gathered that the commercial bus, with number plate APP28YE, and the truck, with no number plate, collided around the Wichtech Company, Ogun State end of the expressway.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Ogun State, Ahmed Umar, who confirmed the incident, said the crash was caused by speeding and wrongful overtaking.
According to him, the crash, which occurred around 3:45pm, involved 25 people and claimed 13 lives, adding that 12 people were injured.
Umar said the injured victims were taken to the Idera Hospital, Sagamu, for treatment, while the corpses were deposited in the mortuary of the hospital.
A spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi, in a statement, also confirmed 13 fatalities.
Akinbiyi said among the dead were four children.
He said, “Twelve persons, comprising five male adults, three female adults and four minors sustained injuries.
“Thirteen persons, comprising four male adults, five female adults and four minors were presumed dead.
“Those that were injured were taken to the Idera Hospital, while the presumed dead bodies were also deposited in the Idera private morgue.
“The vehicles involved in the accident have been towed to the Sagamu Police Station.”
On the cause of the accident, Akinbiyi said, “We learnt that the commercial bus was coming from Lagos, and it overtook another vehicle at its front wrongly, only to ram into a stationery truck by the roadside, killing nine persons in the vehicle on the spot.
“The remaining four victims died at the Idera Hospital, where they were rushed to by officials of TRACE and Federal Road Safety Corps.
“This is why TRACE will continue to insist that the road or roadside is not a mechanic workshop where cars should be parked or repaired for whatever fault because of its attendant consequences.”
