By Christopher Oji
Angry youths, yesterday, slammed officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LATSMA), over the death of a pregnant woman, two children, and a policeman at the Okota area of the state.
Although LATSMA claimed that only the pregnant woman died, while the two kids and the policeman were receiving treatment in the hospital, a witness, John Obi, insisted that the kids were lifeless when they were taken away.
Trouble was said to have started when LASTMA officials and a policeman attached to the team wanted to arrest a driver of a Toyota Sienna car for allegedly driving against traffic (One-Way), and the driver was resisting arrest.
A witness, Mrs Uche Muoneke, said the accident occurred when two men attempted to take control of the steering from the driver of the Sienna car.
“The incident happened as a police officer was dragging the steering wheel with the driver of a privately-owned Sienna car into Baywale street, Balogun bus stop, Ago. I saw the officer as he dragged the car steering with the driver who refused to stop. He dragged the steering wheel with the driver till the car hit a Keke (commercial tricycle) driver carrying a pregnant woman with her two children.
“That was how the woman, her two children, the police officer and the keke driver lost their lives this morning (Tuesday). The victims were crushed by the car after which some other police officers rushed to the scene and started shooting sporadically,” she said.
Another witness, Sunday Orji, said the police officers started firing tear gas to prevent people from coming near the scene of the accident. Orji said other commercial tricycle drivers plying the route staged a protest over the incident.
He also said the husband of the pregnant woman fainted on sighting the blood-soaked bodies of his wife and children.
Immediately the accident occurred, angry youths and other sympathisers descended on the LASTMA officials and the policeman. The protesters barricaded the road and moved down to a nearby LASTMA office, where they sacked the workers and vandalised some properties, including vehicles. However, the deployment of police patrol teams saved the situation as the police were able to dispass the protesters and took over the public spaces.
Meanwhile, Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Mr Adebayo Taofiq, said a driver apprehended for driving in a direction prohibited by Law (One-Way) killed a tricycle operator, pregnant woman and injured two school children around the Okota axis of the state.
“Traffic Officer, Hassan Kehinde of Zone 27, Okota, who led the LASTMA patrol team disclosed that a driver of a blue Toyota Sienna bus, with registration number: AKD 944 HN, was apprehended for driving against traffic (One-way) around Ago Palace Way, Lagos.
“A policeman attached to the patrol team volunteered to escort the apprehended vehicle to the LASTMA office for proper booking. On their way and in an attempt by the driver to escape, he diverted into Bayo Oyewale Street, by Ago Roundabout and rammed into a fully loaded tricycle.
“While the tricycle operator died instantly, the pregnant woman later died at the hospital, while the two injured school children were currently under the Intensive Care Unit, receiving medical attention. The escort policeman in the contravened vehicle equally sustained various degrees of injury as a result of the fatal auto crash.
“The incident sparked off protest as irate mob descended on the escort police officer, but with the timely intervention of a team of policemen from Ago/Okota/Ilasa police stations saved the policeman from being lynched. LATSMA yard was invaded and valuable items vandalised, including vehicles within the premises.
“It is noteworthy to mention that in an attempt to escape, the driver of the Sienna car lost control as a result of reckless driving which eventually resulted in the fatal accident. The management of the agency commiserates with the families of the deceased and assures that thorough investigation will be carried out to determine the immediate and remote causes of the accident, and that justice will be served appropriately.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, said the case was being investigated while normalcy has returned to the area.