Otedola Bridge witnesses fresh accident as two buses crash, at least 8 injured

Two buses crashed into each other on Otedola Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Friday, June 29, 2018, just as emergency responders were busy clearing the part of the bridge that witnessed the death of at least nine people when a fuel tanker exploded on Thursday.

According to an eyewitness that spoke to Pulse, a commercial bus, popularly called danfo, illegally took the one way route, on the other side of the road from the explosion accident, and crashed into a white Toyota Hiace bus with Lagos number plate AAA-926XU.

[No available link text]

Many passengers were injured with one person struggling for breath before he was rushed to a hospital by officials of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) who were already on the scene because of the previous day's accident.

Preliminary account from the scene of the accident indicate that the driver of the danfo bus was speeding because he was running from officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) after he violated a traffic law.

According to the driver of the white bus, who identified himself as Ayinde, his bus was travelling interstate from Ondo State before the accident. He reported that the LASTMA officials that were chasing after the driver ran away immediately after the crash happened.

When police officers got to the scene, the driver of the danfo bus was arrested with 200mg of tramadol found inside his bus.

All the people injured from the crash were passengers of the danfo bus as all 15 passengers in the white bus escaped unhurt.

At least 9 dead from previous accident

LASEMA has confirmed that at least nine people were killed when a petrol tanker exploded on Otedola Bridge on Thursday, June 28, 2018. 4 other people suffered from varying degrees of burns while 54 vehicles were consumed by the fire.

According to LASEMA, the accident occured when a Mack tanker truck loaded with 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) fell and spilled its content on the road resulting into a fire outbreak.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) disclosed that the accident was due to a brake failure.

Ambode expresses pain over accident

After paying a visit to the scene of the tragic accident as emergency responders cleaned up the scene late on Thursday, state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, took to his Facebook account to express his sadness over the tragic loss of lives.

He wrote, "Very sad day. The loss of lives in an accident like today is very painful. My prayers are with everyone affected by this tragedy."

In a statement signed by the state's Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kehinde Bamigbetan, the government commiserated with families of victims who lost their lives and properties in the fatal tanker explosion. He described the accident as a sad development, saying that it was most unfortunate and regrettable.

He urged motorists to continue to adhere to safety standards and the state's traffic laws so as to prevent a recurrence of such an accident.