At least 17 passengers were confirmed dead in the early hours of Tuesday after a car crashed into a trailer along the Kwali-Abaji expressway, in the Federal Capital Territory.
Four persons were also injured during the road crash.
According a statement signed by the Federal Road Safety Corps Spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem on Tuesday, investigation into the fatal crash revealed that the crash involved 1 DAF Trailer with registration number BAU 632 XA, and a Toyota Bus with registration number GME 201 ZU.
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Kazeem noted that the main cause of the crash was excess speed and fatigue adding that the fatigue was as a result of the driver’s indulgence in a night long trip, without observing adequate rest within the driving period.
The statement reads,
“Unfortunately, there where a total of 22 occupants involved in the crash, out of which 17 victims all male were killed. 4 other occupants, also male victims who were rescued alive sustained various degrees of injuries, while the remaining 1 male occupant was rescued without any injury,”
“As at the time of this statement, the emergency rescue team of the corps has concluded the rescue of the injured victims to Abaji General Hospital for immediate medical attention, while the remains of the dead victims were deposited at the mortuary.”
Kazeem quoted Dauda Biu, acting FRSC corps marshal, as saying drivers must avoid speeding as crash investigations conducted over the years have attributed accidents to excessive violation of legal speed limits.
Biu also warned against night trips while urging drivers to always observe a rest period of 30 minutes after every four-hour drive so as to avoid the danger of fatigue on the highways.
He said incessant violations necessitated the directive given by the federal government for the corps to commence sensitisation and enforcement of compulsory installation of speed-limiting devices.
He further admonished the public to always patronize the FRSC toll free line 122 and the National Traffic Radio 107.1 FM which are always available for all road users to report emergencies at any given time.
