4-Year-Old, Mother, 12 Others Cheat Death In Lagos Bus Crash

A mother and her four-year-old child were among 14 passengers who narrowly survived a road accident on Wednesday after a commercial bus overturned at Okun Ajah, Lagos.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said the fully loaded Mazda bus, marked AKD 509 XL, suddenly lost stability along Coaster Road, opposite Lafiaji, before somersaulting and landing on its side.

Passengers were left trapped in the wreckage, visibly shaken and injured.

LASTMA operatives responding to the scene pulled survivors from the twisted bus and coordinated medical evacuation.

The four-year-old boy, his mother, and two others were taken to Mother & Child Hospital at Abraham Adesanya along Ogombo Road. Other injured passengers were transported to nearby hospitals by bystanders who assisted at the scene.

LASTMA spokesperson Adebayo Taofiq confirmed the incident, saying the exact cause of the crash had not yet been determined. The case has been handed over to the Abraham Adesanya Police Division for investigation.

Taofiq said in a statement, “Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) solemnly announces the occurrence of a lone grievous road traffic accident along Coaster Road, opposite Lafiaji inward Okun Ajah, involving a fully laden Mazda commercial bus AKD 509 XL,” the statement read.

“The ill-starred vehicle overturned with violent force and culminating in a harrowing crash of considerable magnitude. In circumstances that can only be described as divinely fortuitous, a four-year-old boy and twelve other occupants including his mother survived what might otherwise have culminated in multiple fatalities,” it added.

LASTMA General Manager Olalekan Bakare-Oki expressed sympathy for the victims and their families, and wished them a full recovery.

He also warned commercial vehicle operators against reckless driving, saying no journey was worth risking lives over, and that obeying speed limits and traffic regulations was both a legal and moral obligation.