It was a black-letter day in Lagos on Tuesday, December 7, as 17 school children were tragically rammed into by a delivery truck which reportedly suffered a brake failure.
The sad accident happened along Isheri Road, just before the Ojodu Police Station.
According to eyewitnesses, the truck had been transporting tissue paper and was suspected to have suffered a brake loss, thus uncontrollably running over several students of Ojodu Grammar school, who were heading home after closing for the day.
Reports had it that a road traffic officer was struggling with the driver of the truck for an unknown reason, which led to the accident.
However, the Federal Road Safety Corps has denied involvement in the crash that claimed lives of students in Ojodu area of Lagos state.
A statement signed by FRSC Public Education Officer, Route Commander, Olabisi Sonusi, stated that men of FRSC were only called upon by passerby to help intervene after the crash had happened.
The statement reads: “An articulated truck was said to have lost control at Grammar School Bus stop along Ogunnusi road, Lagos today Tuesday 7th December, 2021 which caused the death of unverified number of students and leaving many injured.
“The men of FRSC were called upon by passerby to help intervene after the crash had happened.
“About seven (7) of the victims were rescued and immediately taken to Lagos State Emergency Centre Ojota by FRSC personnel while another road user helped in carrying about seven (7) also to the same emergency centre.
“The general public should disregard the disgruntled information been circulated by some unscrupulous element that FRSC men caused the crash.
“We want to place it on record that our men were not in any way involved in the cause of the crash as patrol activities was not ongoing along that axis as at the time of the crash.”
After the accident, aggrieved students of the school were seen attacking trucks, damaging windscreens and other parts after setting ablaze the truck in question.
Mothers, whose children were yet to return from school, were seen in panic as they made their way to the accident site to check for their wards.
As at press time, the survivors of the accident had been rushed to the nearest hospital, while the dead students were reportedly taken to the morgue.
