The Federal Road Safety Corps reported Monday that an automobile accident on the Lokoja-Obajana Road on Sunday claimed the lives of at least 19 people and injured eight more.
This was confirmed to reporters in the state capital of Lokoja by Mr. Kumar Tsukwam, the corps’ state sector commander.
Tsukwam reported that several of the survivors received bruises, scrapes, dislocations, fractures, and fire burns.
Around 4 p.m. on Sunday, he claimed, the deadly accident happened in the Gadabiu community along the Lokoja-Obajana Road in the state’s Lokoja Local Government Area.
He disclosed that five children were among the 19 who perished in the fire.
According to him, the fatal accident involved an articulated vehicle (truck) and a Toyota Hummer bus heading to Abuja from the south.
He said that it was a head-on collision when the bus, on high speed, tried to overtake an articulated vehicle, only to face an oncoming articulated vehicle with no option.
“It was very unfortunate, because it was caused by speeding and wrongful overtaking and involved 27 persons with only eight survivors.
“Our rescue operation team and the police were able to rescue the eight survivors and rushed them to Fisayo Hospital, Obajana, for immediate medical attention,” he said.
The commander said that the highways were not race roads and appealed to motorists to avoid speeding and wrongful overtaking.
He also tasked motorists to always keep to traffic rules and regulations to help the corps and the Federal Government in reducing road traffic crashes and carnage on roads across the country.
