Atleast three children and 11 adults were reported to have died and three others injured when a 17-seater commercial bus collided with two other vehicles including a stationary Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and went up in flames on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
It was learnt that the accident involved a silver Toyota RAV 4 car with number plate LND 13 GS and a silver Toyota Camry marked GGE 369 GJ, and a Mazda commercial bus with an unidentified number were involved in the accident on the long bridge.
Confirming the casualties number, the spokesperson of Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, on Friday, told newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State, that the accident occurred at 8:20 pm yesterday night.
Akinbiyi attributed the accident to the commercial bus wrong overtaking of another vehicle which resulted in its head-on collision with a faulty and stationary Toyota RAV 4 that was been repaired by the owner.
The spokesperson said that 17 passengers were on the bus when the accident happened, and 14 persons were burnt to death and that their remains have been recovered.
“The burnt commercial bus was involved in wrongful overtaking before it hit a stationary vehicle (Toyota RAV 4), parked in the middle of the road due to breakdown, and also hit a Camry car. In the process, it lost control, somersaulting severally before it burst into flames,” he added.
Akinbiyi said that two victims who sustained injuries were rescued and taken to Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre, and one other to the General Hospital, Gbagada for treatment.
He commiserated with the families of the dead victims, warning drivers to desist from speeding, wrongful overtaking and attitude that exposed other road users to risk and danger.
