Policemen attached to the Layeni Police Station in Lagos have arrested a truck driver for allegedly crushing the head of a bus conductor in the Ajegunle area of the metropolis.
A commuter, who identified himself as Andrew Okoro, told our correspondent that the conductor identified simply as Chukwudi, was collecting the fare from the passengers in his mini- bus along Ojo Road, Ajegunle, while the vehicle was in motion, but suddenly brought his head out from the window. The truck, which was trying to overtake the bus, immediately crushed his head, killing him instantly.
Immediately the driver stopped the vehicle, he and his conductor took to their heels to avoid being attacked by a mob. The two men were running after the vehicle claiming that the vehicle had killed their mother
According to Okoro, “The conductor was collecting money from his passengers and wanted to bring out change for a passenger when the truck killed him. His head was scattered and blood gushed out, staining some of the passengers. Many people wept uncontrollably on seeing the lifeless body of the conductor. His driver was crying and people apprehended the truck driver and handed him over to the policemen attached to Layeni Police Station, who detained the driver of the truck.”
Another commuter, who identified himself as Mukaila Olayiwola, said, “The truck driver was impatient as he was driving to beat the hold-up. The conductor did not know that the truck was close to him and unfortunately the truck crushed his head. His passengers, driver and onlookers could not withhold their tears. Truck drivers are reckless. They have killed so many people in Ajegunle and its environs.
“It is almost on a daily basis that trucks and tankers kill innocent people. Some people are still in the hospital because of these long vehicles. I heard that the name of the conductor was Chukwudi. He was from Ebonyi State. May God protect us from these truck and tanker drivers that have become a menace in Ajegunle.”
In another development, a hit-and- run tanker driver has injured a woman at the Achapo area of Ajegunle, leaving her with serious injuries.
The driver wanted to escape from the vehicle, but ended up injuring more people with the truck with Lagos registration number, APP 559 XP.
The driver, identified simply as Raphael, was said to have also injured an unidentified man.
Raphael was still trying to escape, when he hit two people on a commercial motorcycle at Jimoh Ojora Street, off Ojo Road, Ajegunle. The motorcycle was damaged.
At that juncture, Raphael stopped the vehicle and escaped with his conductor.
An eyewitness, Olu Adekoya said, “Immediately the driver stopped the vehicle, he and his conductor took to their heels to avoid being attacked by a mob. The two men were running after the vehicle claiming that the vehicle had killed their mother. Fortunately, they later realised that their mother did not die, but was rushed to a nearby hospital. The tanker injured two men on a motorcycle and damaged the bike. The rider sustained injury in the leg while his brother on the passenger seat sustained a minor
injury.”
Narrating his narrow escape from death, the rider of the motorcycle, Ifeanyi Njoku, said “It was God that saved us, if not, the vehicle would have crushed me and my elder brother, Ikechukwu. We were on the motorcycle when we saw the tanker coming at top speed. There was no space for us to run to because they parked trucks on one side of the road. The driver hit us and believing that we were dead, he stopped the vehicle and escaped with his conductor.
“Policemen came and deflated the tyre of the tanker. We had to carry the motorcycle inside a tricycle to the Layeni Police Station. One man and his two children also came to the station because the old man said the tanker hit his
wife.”
Continuing, Njoku said the next day a man, who identified himself simply as Mayor, “came to the station that he was the owner of the tanker. He also promised to repair the motorcycle. After some discussions, he called some men, who used a cart to move the motorcycle to a mechanic workshop for
repairs.”