Many killed in Bauchi auto crashes

NO fewer than 13 lives were lost to two road accidents that occurred in Bauchi, Bauchi State, between Thursday and Friday.

Saturday Tribune gathered that the accidents occurred in Tashan Maiturare and Takandan Giwa communities at the Bauchi-Jos Road in Toro Local Government Area of the state.

The first accident which occurred at about 9.00 p.m. on Thursday involved a Peugeot J5 bus and a car which had a head-on collision that saw 11 victims killed on the spot and others injured.

The second accident, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, involved a Vectra car which swerved off the road and into the bush around Takandan Giwa village, leaving two dead and others injured.

It was gathered that the two accidents were caused by traffic rule infringements by the drivers of the vehicles.

When contacted, the Head of Operations, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bauchi State Sector Command, Ibrahim Abubakar, confirmed the accidents, claiming, however, that only eight people died in the first accident, while nobody died in the second.

Abubakar said the first crash occurred on 27 February, 2020 at 8.17 p.m., at Tashan-Maiturare, along Bauchi-Jos Road, explaining that the crash was caused by speeding and tyre burst.

Two vehicles, a white commercial bus with registration number: BLG625XA and a blue commercial mini-bus, he said, were involved in the crash and 11 people (10 males and a female) were affected.

“When our men were called upon, we rushed to the scene of the crash for a rescue operation. As soon as we got there, we evacuated the victims to Toro General Hospital for medical attention. It was at the hospital that eight people (seven males and a female) were confirmed dead by a medical doctor.

The remaining three (two males and one female) sustained varying degrees of injury,” he said.

He said further that the injured victims were currently undergoing medical attention while the bodies of the dead were deposited in a mortuary and would soon be released to their relatives for burial.

Abubakar called on drivers to be vigilant and obey traffic regulations.

He said: “We will not stop calling on all motorists to always be vigilant while on the highway and they should always obey road traffic regulations which are meant to protect lives.

“They should also desist from night travels. We have always advised them to plan their journeys so that they don’t have to travel at night.”