Bus Conductor Burnt To Death In Lagos Autocrash

A bus conductor was on Thursday burnt
to death after an auto crash on the Odo
Iya Alaro flyover in the Maryland area of
Lagos State.Textile materials in the
vehicle were also burnt in the accident
which was said to have happened around
4am.
The commercial bus,was said to have had
a burst tyre during its journey towards
the Ikorodu area of the state.
Our correspondent learnt from an
eyewitness that there were four people in
the vehicle ─ two men, who were
presumably conveying the textile wares to
the market, the conductor and driver.
The witness, Idowu Kuba, said
immediately the tyre burst and the
vehicle lost control, the two passengers
quickly jumped out of the bus, while the
driver also escaped. The conductor was,
however, not lucky as he was pinned
down by the bus.
She said, “The accident happened around
4am. There were four people in the bus,
two young men, who wore jerseys, the
driver and the conductor.
“They were heading towards Ikorodu with
some textile materials in the boot when
they had the accident. Three people
jumped out of the vehicle, but the
conductor was trapped and the driver
started shouting for help.
“But other vehicles did not move near it.
They all maintained a distance and before
anyone knew it, the bus caught fire.”
The Public Relations Officer of LASTMA,
Bola Ajao, said the accident was due to
high speeding by the driver.
She said, “The driver was speeding and
when the vehicle had a burst tyre, the
vehicle almost fell off the flyover, but the
driver managed to climb the kerb.
That was why the vehicle was tilted
towards the side of the conductor who
was then pinned to the ground.
Shortly after, petrol spilled on the ground
and the vehicle went up in flames. The
conductor was burnt to death.”
The Director of the Lagos State Fire
Service, Rasak Fadipe, said firemen from
the Ilupeju and Isolo divisions responded
to the emergency.
He said, “It was a self-caused accident
that could have been avoided if the man
was not speeding. When we heard, we
deployed our men from the Ilupeju fire
station, before asking those from the Isolo
division to join them.
“If a driver is speeding and you ask him
to slow down, but he fails to heed your
warning, just disembark at the next bus
stop.”