28th August, 2015
Jethro Ibileke/Benin
A fatal accident involving a 50-seater mass transit bus belonging to Edo state government, popularly called “Comrade Bus,” has claimed the life of a yet to be identified man.
The accident which occurred at about 12:30 pm on Friday in Ekae community, located along Sapele road, in Oredo Local Government Area of the State, caused tension in the community.
It was gathered from sources in the community that the victim and a woman, believed to be his wife, were waiting along the busy highway to board a vehicle to Warri, Delta State, when the bus with registration number ED-10-B28, veered off the road and knocked him down, severing his head in the process.
The woman was said to have narrowly escaped being hit by the vehicle, while some of passengers on the vehicle were said to have sustained varying degrees of injury.
“They were waiting to board a bus to Warri when the Comrade Bus suddenly hit him.
“It looks like the brake failed because of the way the bus just hit the man and removed his head. The man died instantly but the woman was lucky to jump and escape,” a source in the community told journalists.
Also confirming the sad incident on phone, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Oluwasusi Familoni, said the identity of the deceased could not be ascertained at the time of the accident.
He however said that the remains of the victim was deposited at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital.
“It happened at about 12:30 pm, involving a Comrade Bus, along Sapele road. It killed a man that was travelling with the wife.
“But the body was deposited at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital. By the time we got there the occupants of the vehicle had left,” Familoni added.