Lagos Accident Claims Lives of Baby, Woman

A deadly road accident on Lagos’s busy Ikorodu Road has resulted in the tragic deaths of an adult woman and an eight-month-old baby, casting a shadow of grief over the motoring public and area residents. The devastating crash unfolded on Sunday near Olabode House, specifically along the stretch just preceding the Obanikoro axis of the major highway.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) has identified the root cause of the tragedy as a catastrophic sequence of high speed and mechanical failure. According to the agency’s account, a red Tata commercial bus, traveling at what was deemed a “dangerously high speed” from the Palmgrove area towards Anthony, suddenly experienced a critical mechanical malfunction. This mechanical failure instantly rendered the driver incapable of controlling the heavy vehicle.

The loss of control led to the bus swerving violently out of its lane. It then crossed the road median, breaching the barrier and veering directly into the opposing carriageway. The runaway bus subsequently slammed with tremendous force into a moving Volkswagen car that was carrying passengers from Anthony in the direction of Palmgrove.

The severity of the impact was immediate and heartbreaking. LASTMA reported that a female passenger in the Volkswagen car died on the spot from the collision. Even more tragically, an eight-month-old female infant, also a passenger in the Volkswagen, later succumbed to the extensive injuries she sustained in the crash. This double loss of life, the agency noted, has sent shockwaves through the community, highlighting the fragility of life on the congested highway.

Emergency teams, comprising LASTMA officials and members of the public, rapidly mobilized to the scene to undertake rescue operations, working urgently to extract victims trapped within the mangled wreckage. Adebayo Taofiq, the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment for LASTMA, released a statement confirming that rescuers managed to pull 10 people from the vehicles, all suffering from various injuries. Six victims were rescued from the heavily impacted Volkswagen commercial vehicle, while four others were evacuated from the Tata bus involved in the collision. The injured were swiftly transported to nearby medical facilities for critical, time-sensitive treatment. Meanwhile, the bodies of the two deceased individuals were respectfully recovered and evacuated by officials from the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU).

In the aftermath of the avoidable tragedy, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, the General Manager of LASTMA, issued a stern and solemn warning directed at commercial drivers. He cautioned them emphatically against the perilous combination of over-speeding and a neglectful attitude towards vehicle maintenance, stressing that such practices are direct pathways to devastating and wholly preventable accidents. Bakare-Oki concluded by offering his deepest condolences to the families mourning their losses and conveyed sincere wishes for a rapid and full recovery to all those who were injured. The incident stands as a stark and painful reminder of the vital importance of safe driving practices and road discipline in the metropolis.