The crashed bus
As health practitioners in Ogun State were gradually getting over the kidnap of their colleagues a few days earlier, tragedy struck again yesterday as two nurses were confirmed dead in an auto crash on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
The lone accident, which involved a white Toyota Hiace with registration number OG 49 A07, occurred on Sunday around Akinale village, Ewekoro Local Council, leaving 10 other occupants injured.
The Guardian learnt that the nurses were travelling to honour the matron in one of the hospitals in Abeokuta when the tragic incident occurred.
A statement by the spokesperson for Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed that the two dead victims were nurses in Ademola Hospital and General Hospital, Ijaiye, both in Abeokuta.
Akinbiyi said one of the survivors of the crash accused the driver of speeding and using a mobile phone while driving at a sharp bend, adding that the driver lost control as the bus somersaulted several times.
“No fewer than 10 persons sustained varying degrees of injuries apart from the two women that lost their lives. According to one of the survivors, the driver was speeding and was as well using his cell phone while driving at a bend. He lost control and the bus somersaulted several times.
“The injured victims were rescued to Hope Hospital, Adigbe, before our arrival. The dead bodies have been deposited at the Ijaye morgue.
“The occupants in the bus were nurses who were all heading to a party to honour the matron in one of the hospitals in Abeokuta. The two dead victims are also nurses in one Ademola Hospital and General Hospital, Ijaiye”.
While commiserating with families and colleagues of the victims, he enjoined motorists to avoid speeding, especially during the rains, as well as the use of mobile phone while driving.
