Four-month-old baby, 13 passengers killed in Lagos auto crash

Fourteen persons, including a four-month-old baby, died on Sunday morning in a road accident along the Lagos-Badagry expressway.

Williams Manga, unit commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who spoke to NAN in Badagry, said nine other persons sustained injuries in the accident.

He said a commercial bus (Mazda) with registration number MUS 411 XU carrying 19 passengers was involved in a collision with a truck marked AKM 926YQ, coming from Badagry.

“The accident occurred around 7:31 am when it was raining heavily along the Lagos-Badagry expressway,” Manga said.

“My men got to the scene of the accident at about 7:41 am and took the injured to General Hospital Badagry, while the dead were deposited at the mortuary of the hospital.

“Out of the 14 casualties, eight of them are male passengers, five female and one four-month-old female child.

“The accident was caused by speeding by the two vehicles while it was raining heavily.”

The FRSC commander added that the driver of the truck was not affected.

He urged motorists not to exceed speed limits, adding that they should always have routine vehicle checks, for prompt detection and replacement of faults.

Theresa Avoseh, one of those at the scene, told NAN that the people involved in the accident were returning home after celebrating with their relations at Makoko in Lagos.

 “The bus, loaded around 5:30 am, was going to Seme with people who went to celebrate with their relatives,” she said.

Olatunde Bakare, medical director of the general hospital, Badagry, said 10 of the victims were brought in dead.

He said while his staff were attending to the injured ones, four more died, which raised the number to 14.

 Bakare said the hospital was doing its best to save the lives of the nine surviving passengers.