From Sola Ojo, Kaduna and Paul Orude Bauchi
Fourteen people lost their lives, while seven others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a fatal auto crash involving a commercial bus and a truck at Kilometre 27, close to Olam farms.
Preliminary findings revealed that the Toyota Hiace bus, ash colour, with the registration number BWR658YL, with 25 passengers on board, dangerously overtook another vehicle which led to a head-on collision with a DAF trailer, blue, with registration number PKM969XA, killing 14 people on the spot, with seven injured, while four others escaped unhurt.
Acting Sector Commander, Kaduna State Command, Deputy Corps Commander Garba Lawal, who confirmed the development to Daily Sun via a phone call, said the injured were taken to a nearby hospital, while the 14 dead bodies were deposited at St Gerald Catholic Hospital, Kaduna.
“It is true. The crash was caused by the commercial bus driver who embarked on dangerous overtaking, which led to a head-on collision with a trailer coming from the opposite direction,” he said.
A witness recounted that the accident affected the free flow of traffic, while men of the FRSC were on ground to manage the situation.
The Federal Government, under President Muhammadu Buhari, had, five years ago, announced its intention to repair the busiest federal road from Abuja-Kaduna-Kano.
However, due to poor funding, the contractors handling the project, including Julius Berger, have been economical with the pace of work, leading to several deaths and the destruction of property.
The contractor handling this particular section of the road where today’s accident happened had begun work on one lane, but abandoned it, forcing motorists in and out of Kaduna to use one lane.
Also, no fewer than 11 people were killed in another road accident which occurred at Hawan Jaki village on Alkaleri-Gombe road in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Bauchi State Command, Yusuf Abdullahi, who confirmed the incident to journalists yesterday, said two commercial vehicles were involved. He said the fatal crash occurred on Saturday, at about 5.30pm and involved 20 people.
He said the FRSC rescue team arrived at the scene and rushed the victims to hospital, with nine confirmed dead by a medical doctor, while two others, who were injured and were receiving treatment in the hospital, later died.
He said one of the vehicles, a Hiace bus belonged to the Yankari Express, driven by one Muhammed Musa, with registration number BA114-A28, while the other vehicle, a DAF truck belonged to Dangote Group of Companies, with registration number: JMU169XA.
The sector commander said the accident was as a result of dangerous driving and appealed to motorists to observe traffic regulations, especially during the ember months when there are high volumes of vehicular movements on the roads.
“You will recall that a few days ago, we flagged off the 2022 ember months campaigns, which has the theme: ‘Avoid Speeding, Unsafe Tyres to Arrive Safely’. During that event, we called on motorists to be more careful and obey all the road traffic regulations laid down, so that lives and properties can be saved.”