The Lagos State Police Command has filed a one-count charge of vehicular manslaughter against a driver, Oyewole Abayomi, who drove recklessly and caused the death of one Toheeb Adetunji at the Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos on November 12, 2023.
Our correspondent gathered on Tuesday that the 40-year-old Abayomi was remanded in December by Magistrate Linda Balogun sitting before a Yaba Magistrate’s Court.
It was further found that the crash which involved one Volkswagen T4 commercial bus and a Sienna Space bus occurred around 5.30am after Abayomi, who was driving his Sienna from Civic Centre towards Oriental Hotel, suddenly entered the road without looking at his sides and therefore ran into the Volkswagen.
The Volkswagen allegedly somersaulted and caught fire and the passengers on board were burnt beyond recognition.
The police prosecutor, Chekwube Okeh, told the court that the defendant’s offence contravened Section 224 and was punishable under Section 229 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The charge read, “That you, Oyewole Abayomi, on November 12, 2023, around 5.30 am, at Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, along Lekki-Epe Expressway. Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did cause the death of one Toheeb Adetunji by driving your Toyota Sienna vehicle recklessly and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 224 and punishable under Section 229 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
The defendant’s plea was however not taken.
The prosecutor prayed the court to remand the defendant to the correctional centre.
Granting the prosecutor’s prayer, Magistrate Balogun ordered the remand of Abayomi to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
She adjourned the case till January 22, 2023, for legal advice from the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
Meanwhile, according to a statement by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency made available on its Facebook page on the day of the incident, the accident claimed three persons and their bodies were deposited in a nearby morgue.
The statement partly read, “The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency deployed its Response Team at Lekki to a scene of a car accident today, Sunday, November 12, 2023, at the Sandfill Bus-stop, inward Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island.
“Consequent upon the arrival of the Response Team at the scene, it was discovered that a commercial bus with registration number, MUS 753 YD, was engulfed in fire. Further investigation revealed that the bus went into flames as a result of reckless driving.
“Unfortunately, the three passengers trapped in the bus were burnt to death. The commodities were bagged and handed over to the SEHMU for immediate transit to the morgue. The bus was recovered off the road and moved to the Maroko Police Station,” the statement read.
