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Christopher Oji
Two persons died while one person was injured when two vehicles were involved in accident at the Ilewe bus stop, Idimu in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos .
It was alleged that the driver of a Siena bus loaded with passengers had defied the government restriction order and was on high speed. It was about to run into a stationary vehicle picking refuse. In an attempt not to run into it, it ramed into a government bus used by the occupants for enlightenment campaign on the Covid-19 pandemic.
On seeing the fatal nature of the accident ,the driver of the refuse vehicle rather than assist in rescuing the trapped occupants of the vehicles zoomed off but some angry commercial vehicle drivers and motorcycle operators who suspected that the driver caused the accident, chased him.
In no distance time, the driver was caught by the angry drivers and motorcycle operators and beaten up.
Unconfirmed report claimed that the driver of the truck gave up the ghost while the conductor was rushed to a hospital.
However ,two occupants of the buses involved in the accident were said to have died few minutes after they were rushed to a nearby hospital.
A Nigeria Immigration Service officer who who witnessed the accident was said to have saved the situation as more people could have died in the accident.
According to a witness Wasiu, “When the accident occurred, the driver of the refuse vehicle zoomed off. But instead of people to rescue those trapped in the wreckage, they were busy chasing the driver while some were snapping photographs with their phones. It was an Immigration officer who mobilized people and called some neighborhood watchers who assisted him to break the doors of the buses and rescued the trapped passengers.
“When the injured passengers were rushed to the hospital, two of them died while one was still in critical condition.
“The driver of the vehicle carrying refuse was later arrested and beaten to death. His conductor was rushed to the hospital. But the way he was pummeled, I don’t think he will survive as well.”
The Immigration officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “I was miffed with the kind of life people are living in this country. People were asked to stay at home, but they wouldn’t listen. If the Siena bus driver and passengers had stayed at home, this avoidable accident couldn’t have occurred.
“The occupants of the local government vehicle were on a legitimate duty, carrying out enlightenment campaign, so also was the refuse vehicle driver and his workers. They were picking refuse. Where were the Siena bus driver and his passengers going to? Again, in this type of situation, there was no police patrol vehicles on the road. If not for the intervention of God, the pandemonium would have escalated because people were angry and looking for where to vent their anger. Even while I was mobilising people to assist in the rescue operations, they were interested in beating the driver of the refuse truck.”
