The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Hit-and-run

  • School moves against hit-and-run menace in Lagos

    Advertising school, O2 Academy Lagos, has taken steps to end the hit-and-run menace in Lagos.

    The students embarked on a social community project by locating a school on a busy street in Lagos State and painted a 3D zebra crossing at its main entrance, the first of its kind in Nigeria.

    The optical illusion of the 3D design from the drivers’ perspective is an obstacle while it is flat from the pedestrians’ perspective.

    Within the first 24 hours of execution, it was observed that motorists were puzzled by the life-like design of the zebra crossing, which led them to slow down and stop their cars allowing school kids as well as adult pedestrians to cross the street easily.

    This innovation, which got the attention of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Instagram, was one of the works from the winning team at the school’s graduation – The Pitch April 2019 edition which held on April 13.

  • Hit-and-run car knocks down trader in Ogun

    A dangerous driver, yesterday morning, knocked down and killed a middle-age electronic seller at Iyana Cele, Owode Ijako in Ifo Local Government of Ogun State.

    An eyewitness said the victim, whose name was Emmanuel Igbanuwo, lived and sold electronics at Iyana Cele.

    He said Igbanuwo was knocked down by the vehicle while trying to cross the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway.

    Sources said the 40-year- old father of one was an indigene of Enugu State, and would soon be taken to his home town for burial.

    Ota Divisional Commander of Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) Ajibade Adekunle said it was a pity the driver, who refused to stop, ended Igbanuwo’s life in such manner.

    He decried dangerous driving despite continuous public enlightenment on safe driving tips on motor parks, religious homes, market, and schools.

    “It does not matter what you believe, the law of retributive justice will surely catch up on everybody and make people reap whatever they sow.

    “How can anyone hit a human being, not an animal and run away.  This is about the second victim in two months. The last one was when such hit-and-run driver killed a TRACE operative at the Owode Ijako

  • Hit-and-run vehicle crushes mother, child to death in Ogun

    A hit – and – run driver on Friday crushed a woman and her baby to death with his Mitsubishi vehicle.

    The toddler was strapped to the woman’s back at the time of the incident.

    The accident occurred at the Agro Service, Odeda, corridor of Abeokuta-Ibadan highway.

    The woman’s other child who she held by the hand sustained injuries.

    Confirming the story, the spokesman of Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, said the vehicle marked LSR604XQ  “lost control due to over speeding and rammed into the woman and his child, killing her and the one she backed but injured the one she held to her hand.”

    Akinbiyi added that the driver, unfortunately, ran away before TRACE operatives got to the accident scene.

    According to him,  the vehicle had been towed to the Odeda Police Division while the remains of the unidentified deceased and her baby were evacuated to the Odeda General Hospital.

    However, the injured toddler was also taken to the Omo Arewa Hospital Odeda for treatment.

  • Hit-and-run truck kills man

    The body of a middle-aged man reportedly killed by a hit-and-run truck was found at Costain yesterday.

    An eyewitness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the man, believed to be a tout operating in Apapa area, was killed while trying to extort money from a trailer coming from the port.

    “The trailer was coming from Apapa, after passing through Ijora, the man made attempt to collect money from the driver of the truck.

    “They were still arguing while the truck was moving, when they got to Costain after National Theatre Iganmu gate, the man fell off the truck and another truck coming behind ran over him.

    “The truck ran over him before 7a.m. today and he died immediately,’’ the said.

    NAN reports that the corpse was removed from the scene near the entrance of National Theatre at 2pm.

  • Hit-and-run driver kills three friends in Ogun

    Three men said to be friends were crushed to death yesterday at the Adedero village stretch of the Kobape-Siun Road in Ogun State by a hit-and-run driver.

    The friends, who were said to be between 26 and 32 years, reportedly came from the North.

    It was learnt they were walking on the roadside when the speeding vehicle veered off its track and knocked them down.

    The driver reportedly sped away.

    Two of them died instantly while the third was taken to a private hospital in Abeokuta, the capital, by operatives of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE).

    But he died some minutes later.

    It was gathered the fleeing driver was heading to Abeokuta with his family.

    He was reportedly intercepted in the city by a police team attached to the Quick Response Squad (QRS) at the entrance to the Governor’s Office in Oke-Mosan.

    TRACE’s spokesman Babatunde Akinbiyi said the remains of the victims had been deposited at the state hospital, Ijaiye in Abeokuta.

    He said: “It was a hit-and-run situation. Two of the victims are confirmed dead while the third was taken to Joseph and Christianah Hospital at Oke Ilewo in Abeokuta but later died.

    “The dead have been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital in Ijaiye while the fleeing driver was arrested by QRS operatives at the Governor’s Office entrance at Oke-Mosan from where he was taken to the State Mobile Traffic Division (MTD) office in Ibara.”

  • Hit-and-run driver kills LAUTECH student

    A 300-Level Accounting student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has died after a road accident  on Ogbomoso-Ilorin highway. Hikmat Abidemi Adeniyi died in the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital  after her motorcycle was hit from the rear by a vehicle.

    The accident occurred at 7pm on Monday when the late Hikmat was going to visit her friend in Adenike area – a community mostly populated by students. Although, LAUTECH has been on strike for  months, private halls of residence built around the school still bubble as some students did not go home.

    Her colleagues were crestfallen when Hikmat was pronounced dead.

    An eyewitness, who did not give his name, said the hit-and-run driver did not stop to help the victims after the motorcycle was hit in the rear.

    He said: “The driver of the hit-and-run car was reckless, which was why he hit the motorcycle so violently. The rider and the passenger were thrown off the motorcycle after the accident. They were badly injured in the crash. The car driver did not stop to help them. It was passersby who rushed to the scene and helped the victims to the hospital.”

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the motorcycle rider, whose name could not be ascertained at press time, was responding to treatment at the same hospital. But, Hikmat could not survive.

    Her friends were inconsolable at the hospital when doctors confirmed Hikmat dead.

    It was gathered that she was supposed to be undergoing Industrial Training (IT) if the school had not been on strike.

    Her colleague, Olasukanmi Babalola, who broke down in tears at the scene, said: “This would not have happened had she started her IT. But, our school is on strike, preventing many students from partaking in IT. The late Hikmat became another victim of this senseless strike.”

    The late Hikmat was buried in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Tuesday. Her course mates and colleagues from other departments attended the burial.

    The Acting Dean of Students Affairs, Dr Jimoda, confirmed the incident, sending the school’s condolences to her family.

  • Hit-and-run driver ‘kills’ man in Aba

    A hit-and-run commercial bus driver has reportedly killed a man at the railway crossing on the Aba-Owerri/Factory Road in Aba, Abia State.

    It was learnt that two other persons, including a newspaper vendor, narrowly escaped death.

    The man, said to be in his 30s, could not be identified at press time last night.

    The victim was said to be among suspected louts who had allegedly been terrorising motorists in the area.

    The government had warned suspected miscreants in the area to desist from criminal acts because they gave the state a bad image.

    The state government was said to be uncomfortable with the activities of louts in Aba and other parts of the state.

    Last year, it ordered the police to arrest illegal revenue collectors, including the suspected louts operating on the railway crossing, the entrance and exit point of the commercial city.

    An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Mr. Francis, said the driver was apparently coming into Aba from Owerri, the Imo State capital.

    He said the bus hit the suspected lout after the driver lost control of the vehicle.

    Francis said the impact of the vehicle on the victim was so heavy that it would be a miracle for the man to survive.

    He said: “I was facing Aba Park when I suddenly heard people shouting. By the time I turned to know what was happening, the bus was almost on me. I quickly jumped over the median. But one of the suspected louts was unlucky: the bus hit him and the driver ran away.”

    A newspaper vendor also said: “The bus was later sighted at the park, but the driver was not there.”

    Another eyewitness, Chidi, said a suspected miscreant was injured on the leg.

    He said the victim’s family took him away for treatment.

    The newspaper vendor expressed worry that the victim might not survive.

    Chidi said: “By the time the family took his body away, the young man was not breathing. He was dead.”

    Police spokesman Ogbonnaya Nta, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), could not be reached for comments at press time last night.

    His mobile phones were switched off.

  • Hit-and-run driver knocks down RRS man

    Hit-and-run driver knocks down RRS man

    Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operative, Corporal Nasir Abdul, was yesterday knocked down by a hit-and-run driver, who was trying to evade arrest for traffic offence.

    Abdul was rushed to the nearby Accident and Emergency Centre at the Old Toll Gate following the accident, which occurred on Ikosi Road around 5pm.

    The driver, Yusuf Ogunbiyi, 35, an auto–technician was chased and arrested at his workshop on Ogundele Street, off Ikosi Road by another team of RRS riders.

    Ogunbiyi, who drove a Toyota Sienna 2003 model marked LSD 573 DR, said he was going to Oregun from Mowe, adding: “I got to 7up, I didn’t know the outlet from Ikosi Road was one-way, I entered it and I was waved down by a Traffic Police Officer and a Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) official but I tried to evade them, unknowing to me, an RRS rider was equally trying to stop me but the vehicle was too close to him, I swerved off immediately in a bid to escape.

    “But, I ended up knocking him (RRS rider) off the road with the bumper. I was too shock and afraid, even though my colleagues in the car told me to stop, I sped off. They traced me to my workshop and that was where I was arrested.

    “I am sorry for everything; I didn’t know that place is one-way. I just finished my apprenticeship and looking for funds for my graduation.”

  • Hit-and-run driver crushes 29-yr-old drummer to death

    A 29-year-old drummer, Saheed Ogunjimi, had life sniffed out of him in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, shortly after he left a party penultimate Sunday.

    The Nation learnt that Ogunjimi was returning from a party held at the auditorium of Olusegun Obasanjo Library, Abeokuta, when he was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver in the early hours of the day.

    Our correspondent learnt that the wife of the deceased was carrying a seven months pregnant at the time of the incident.

    Eyewitnesses said that Ogunjimi was drunk and could barely control himself as he was crossing the road before he was crushed by the unidentified vehicle.

    It was said that the unidentified driver ran away immediately the accident occurred.

    An eyewitness who did not want to be named said: “There was a downpour and his friends at the party urged him to wait till the rain would stop, but Ogunjimi did not listen to them.

    “Some of the security men at the venue of the event also fruitlessly pleaded with him not to leave because he was drunk, but the deceased ignored them.

    “Some of his friends even saw his mangled body on the road but had no idea it was him. The body was left there until men of Ogun State traffic management agency evacuated it later in the day.”

    Findings revealed that Ogunjimi was one of the drummers of a local musician that thrilled guests at the party, where he allegedly consumed alcohol in excess.

    It however took his family members more than one week to know that he had been killed after they had spent a lot of money searching for him.

    A source who spoke in confidence said: “His father, Elder Sabitu Ogunjimi, is aged. The old man said his son did not tell him about his destination when he was leaving for the party.

    “He also explained that his son was fond of drinking alcohol and had been aided home by some of his friends on a number of occasions.

    “In a bid to know his whereabouts, several calls were fruitlessly made to his mobile phone while his family members had visited several police stations and hospitals without any positive result.”

  • Hit-and-run driver kills man

    Hit-and-run driver kills man

    A man was killed by a hit-and-run commercial bus driver at Sanya Bus Stop on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos.

    The victim had alighted from another bus on a wrong way and wanted to cross the road.

    Passersby tried to save him but other motorists refused to stop to convey him to hospital.

    An eyewitness told The Nation: “The man alighted from the bus on the wrong way and immediately he wanted to cross the road, another bus on the right lane from behind knocked him down.

    “He was hit badly because blood was coming out from his mouth, nose and ears. All attempts to make motorists come to his rescue failed  before he died.”

    Another witness said: “The man was trying to cross the road when the accident happened. The government should try to stop this act of bus passing wrong way because many lives have been lost.

    “We have witnessed a number of death cases along this route all in the name of wrong way, it’s getting too much. Nigerians should also stop the habit of not trying to help at the scene of rescue. If we are talking about change, this is how to change situations for better.”

    A cell phone was found on the deceased and following a phone call, it was discovered that he left Ajah few hours before the accident.

    His remains have been deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) morgue in Ikeja.