Christopher Oji
Two persons died and another was injured yesterday when two buses had a head on collision at the Ilewe bus stop, Idimu in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos.
A Siena bus loaded with passengers, which had defied the government restriction order, was on high speed and about to run into a stationary vehicle picking refuse but in an attempt not to run into it, ran 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 drivers and motorcycle operators who suspected that the driver caused the accident, chased him .
In no distance time, the driver, caught by the angry drivers and motorcycle operators, beat him and another man believed to be one of his workers to stupor. Unconfirmed report claimed that the driver gave up the ghost while the conductor was rushed to the 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 was on duty and witnessed the accident, was said to have saved the situation as many people would have died in the accident.
According to a witness, Wasiu, “when the accident occurred and the driver of the refuse vehicle zoomed off, instead of people to rescue those trapped in the accident, 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 is still in critical condition.
“Anyway, 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 the condition of anonymity as he was not supposed to speak to the press, 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 wouldn’t have occurred.”