15th January, 2021
By Jethro Ibileke/Benin
Two separate auto crashes that occurred on Friday in Arue-Uromi and Agbede, in Edo State have claimed 15 lives, including six siblings.
The Arue-Uromi accident reportedly provoked anger, tears and sorrow, as the six casualties involved, four girls and two boys, were said to be children of the same family.
It was however not clear how exactly the accident occurred.
One account of had it that the children were crossing the road, while another said they were playing football when an approaching Mercedes Benz, in an attempt to dodge a pothole, swerved and ran into them, killing them on the spot.
It was learnt that residents of the area blocked the road and burnt the Mercedes Benz.
The Agbede accident was said to be a multiple accident, that involved a petrol tanker, a Sienna bus and two other vehicles.
It reportedly claimed nine lives, eight male and one female.
Unspecified number of other passengers were also said to have sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp, Henry Benameisia, who confirmed the accident, attributed it to break failure on the part of the tanker, as well as over speeding by the Sienna bus.