Lagos-Ibadan crash: Injured passenger dies in hospital

The only passenger who was in critical condition following a Friday road crash along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has died at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State.

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency disclosed this in an update on Saturday, saying the passenger died while receiving treatment.

The update was contained in a report by the TRACE Unit Commander, Saapade, Cmdr Oridota P.O., following a post-crash visit to the hospital on Saturday morning.

This was shared with our correspondent by the spokesperson, Ogun TRACE, Akinbiyi Babatunde.

PUNCH Online reports that the latest update does not identify the deceased passenger by name, age or sex.

According to the report, the hospital management announced the death of the passenger during the visit.

The development marks a turn in the incident, which initially left 13 people injured on Friday, according to TRACE.

“In the course of embarking on post crash visit to OOUTH sagamu this morning, it was announced by the hospital management that the only passenger in critical condition that was taken to OOUTH has passed on,” it read.

In its earlier accident report, TRACE said the crash involved a Mazda bus conveying 18 occupants, which overturned after a tyre burst and struck a concrete barrier along the Lagos-bound section of the expressway.

The agency identified the injured victims as two men, eight women and three children, who were evacuated to three hospitals for treatment. One was taken to OOUTH, nine to Divine Hospital, Ogere, and three to Isara General Hospital. The initial report recorded no fatalities

The accident attracted public attention after Nollywood actor, Kunle Afod, raised the alarm over what he described as the absence of emergency responders at the scene.

In a video shared on his Instagram page on Friday, Afod said he had spent about 20 minutes at the scene without seeing an ambulance or emergency personnel.

He appealed to the Ogun State Government, the Federal Road Safety Corps and other emergency agencies to come to the victims’ aid.

However, the Ogun State Government, in a statement on Saturday, disputed the actor’s account, saying an ambulance and FRSC personnel arrived at the scene 10 minutes after the accident was reported.

The government said a passerby reported the incident at the FRSC point in Ogere at 12:18pm, while the ambulance and FRSC personnel arrived at 12:28pm.

It also said victims were taken to Victory Hospital, Ogere, while those with more serious injuries were conveyed to OOUTH, Sagamu. The government accused Afod of politicising the incident, an allegation that formed part of its response to his complaint.