Baby crushed as truck rams into vehicles

Commuters lament gridlock, activities of danfo drivers at Owode-Onirin

It was a horrid sight at Agric bus stop, Ikorodu area of Lagos on Friday night when a truck rammed into three vehicles, leaving a nine-month-old baby crushed and three persons severely injured.This accident occurred at the bus-stop, which is always rowdy due to the activities of traders and hawkers milling around the major gateway in and out of Ikorodu. The brake of the truck reportedly failed and collided with three other vehicles in the multiple accidents. 

Luckily for occupants of the vehicles – a Honda Odyssey, Honda CRV and Toyota Forerunner, there was quick response from emergency responders, who were on ground to wedge the out-of-control truck with a huge stone, before rescuing the three victims who were severely injured. Efforts to save the baby proved abortive.

It was confirmed at the scene from emergency workers, which included officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) and the police that the victims were immediately rushed to an undisclosed private hospital. 
An eyewitness who pleaded for anonymity told The Guardian that traders and other commuters had to scamper to safety when the accident occurred. “It was a terrible sight. We were all selling our wares here. Suddenly, we saw this truck coming from Ikorodu garage hitting three cars and swerving towards our direction. Thank God policemen around found a stone to stop it, if not it would have overran the market and killed many people.”

Meanwhile, motorists who ply the Owode Onirin road on the Ikorodu expressway have called on the state government to abolish the bus-stop, while others demand that traffic and law enforcement officers be stationed at the place to ensure free-flow of traffic, especially at peak period in the evening.Speaking to The Guardian, a fashion designer, Shelle Yusuf, who ply the road daily, said his major burden while returning home from work is the level of traffic he experiences in that axis, which sometimes stretches to Mile 12, Ketu and Ojota. 

“After a day of work and stress, going home is not easy all because of these danfo drivers at Owode Onirin. You see them park their buses on a major road, dropping and picking passengers without even minding the traffic behind them. No one is cautioning them. Government should do something.”Blessing Agu, a banker, said it is strange for LASTMA officers to be on every highway in Lagos, arresting vehicles but not doing anything about the menace of commercial bus drivers at the Owode Onirin bus-stop. “This is the only route into Ikorodu, we can’t continue to suffer like this every evening. These danfo drivers can’t continue holding us all to ransom on the road because they are looking for passengers. Something must be done urgently about them,” she said.
   
In another development, two students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) were involved in a bike accident along Oru-Ijebu road last week. The victims were identified as Bolatito Onadeyinde and one Ronke who are both 300-level students. They boarded a tricycle in the quest to return a fake phone charger sold to them. The accident left the two victims in a state of unconsciousness. While Ronke had a temporary amnesia as she couldn’t identify her family, Onadeyinde got severe head injury.