Train/BRT bus accident: Driver begs victims, blames mechanical fault
Driver of the Lagos State Government operated staff BRT bus which was involved in a ghastly accident with a shuttle train belonging to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), has blamed a mechanical fault in the vehicle for the incident which left six passengers dead, and scores injured, in the Thursday morning mishap at the PWD busstop area, along the Agege Motor Road.
The BRT bus deployed as a staff vehicle by the Lagos State Government was headed for Alausa from Isolo when the train shuttle which daily services the Lagos-Abeokuta route rammed into it at the level crossing when the bus driver attempted to negotiate into the Ikeja GRA axis from the Agege Motor Road.
The train dragged the wreckage of the fully-loaded staff bus for nearly 500 meters to Shogunle busstop before coming to a stop.
The accident left the 85 passengers, who included mostly civil servants of the state government and their families with varying degrees of injuries, as six were confirmed dead same day; two on the spot, another four at the hospitals where the injured were rushed to.
According to eyewitness account, the bus driver ignored warnings by both onboard passengers and other motorists to steer clear of the rail tracks as the train was fast approaching but he attempted to beat the train to the intersection.
Other eyewitnesses also claimed that the bus driver was wearing an ear piece while on the steering which presumably impaired his hearing to the warnings of an approaching train.
However, the driver of the ill-fated bus, identified as Mr Remi Osinbajo, has begged families of the deceased passengers, as well as injured victims of the accident to forgive him, just as he denied intentionally killing them.
According to the 44-year-old Osinbajo, a mechanical fault in the bus caused the accident.
He was said to have been overheard narrating to some of his relatives who were waiting for him there.
“It was not my fault. How could I have ignored warning signs? The bus had a mechanical fault.
“It is a pity this has happened. I beg everyone affected to please forgive me in the name of God,” he was quoted as saying.
The driver, a staff of the State Ministry of Transport, was initially transferred to the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, same Thursday.
Reacting to the accident, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) disclosed that Osibanjo, was arrested same Thursday and detained for further investigation by the Railway Police Command Headquarters, Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
A statement signed by Mrs. Grace Alo, the Director of Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, added that the Commissioner of Police, Railway Police Command has taken over the investigation of the accident.
According to her, the bus involved in the collision has also been retrieved and sent for a thorough examination at the Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service Office (VIO), while the State Ministry of Justice awaits both reports from the VIO and the police to invstigate the cause of the accident for necessary action.
Whilst informing that the Ministry commiserates with the victims of the accident and the families of those who lost their lives to the tragic accident, Alo disclosed that the Commissioner has assured members of the public that upon receipt of the case file from the Police and the report of the VIO, the office shall not hesitate to prosecute any person(s) found culpable.
When a government decides to entrust expensive buses to touts and agberos what do you expect. The driver’s defence is an afterthought. That spot is next bus stop to my residence and railway marshalls are always there to stop motorists sometimes up to five minutes before the train reaches the crossing. Other motorists stopped but he overtook them. If it were mechanical fault in the bus he would have rammed into those vehicles that stopped.
But it’s time Nigeria Railways go back to erect the barriers they usually deploy to prevent vehicles from crossing once trains are approaching. How many such accidents do they want to see before doing the right thing?