Widow, students die in Lagos, Ondo auto crashes

– Three vehicles ram into Dangote articulate vehicle in Lagos
 – Three vehicles also collide in Ondo state, causing fire outbreak 
– Eyewitnesses blame it on overspeeding, others say recklessness of security, road agencies

 An unidentified mother of three, some students and several other people have reportedly lost their lives to ghastly accidents in Lagos and Ondo states. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Scene of the accident in Lagos state. Photo: The Punch According to reports, the accidents occurred separately in both states on Thursday, March 4, 2016. The Lagos incident occurred at Abule Tailor bus stop end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, where the widow and trader, Alhaja Fatima Adebambo, was crushed to death by a cement-laden truck with number plate, XA 298 WNN. The Punch reports that a vehicle, marked KTU 166 CX, and another, marked LND 257 BP, rammed into the stationary Dangote truck on the middle of the busy expressway, resulting in the instant death of Adebambo, who drove the Serena bus, while the driver of the car, simply identified as Olaoluwa, sustained serious injuries. Matthew Olayinka, one of the eyewitnesses, said the terrible situation could have been avoided if police officers and the Federal Road Safety Corps had responded to heeded several calls to tow the truck away from the road. “The police and the FRSC personnel patrol the road nearly every 15 minutes; they cannot claim that they were not aware that a truck broke down the middle of the road. We even called 112 and 767, the telephone numbers dedicated for emergency. We are surprised now that they only came when the stationary vehicle has caused accident,” he said. Another eyewitness, Saheed Sanni, explained that sympathisers and the policemen spent a lot of time trying to retrieve the mangled body of Adebambo from the wreckage of her vehicle. “We had to search her bag before we found a telephone number which we dialed to inform the receiver, who happened to be her relative, that she was involved in a crash. We knew through our conversation with the receiver that she was a widow with children,” he explained. Policemen reportedly stopped some aggrieved boys in the area who wanted to set the truck ablaze after the mishap, while the security operatives blamed the incident on overspeeding. Dolapo Badmus, the Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) could not comment on the incident as her phone was switched off. Meanwhile, in Ondo state, at least 15 people were burnt beyond recognition in an accident that involved three vehicles. The accident which reportedly happened on Akure-Owo Expressway, at Alamurin village in the Owo local government area at about 2.00pm on Thursday, involved three vehicles; a Toyota Hiace bus, belonging to a Federal Government agency, with number plate, FG 357 BOT; a Toyota Sienna bus, marked, LSR 163 AA; and a Nissan Privia bus. Reports gathered have it that only four occupants of the three vehicles survived the accident, while the rest were simply burnt by the inferno that razed the vehicles. “The men of the Federal Road Safety Corps rushed the injured to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, for treatment, while the dead were deposited at the mortuary of the hospital,” a source informed, while another eyewitness noted that two of the vehicles had a head-on collision, with the third rammed into them, causing the fire. Edward Zamber, the Ondo state sector commander of the FRSC, while confirming the unfortunate incident, said: “Our record shows that nine people lost their lives to the accident, while four were injured.”