Motorist Crushes LAWMA Official To Death, Injures One

A hit-and-run driver of a jeep knocked down two highway managers of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency on Monday along Iyana Oworo Expressway in the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that although the driver managed to escape, the vehicle’s number plate fell in the process and had been handed over to security officials.

It was gathered that the driver, who was on top speed, wanted to beat the traffic snarl when he rammed into the victims, identified as Lateefat Sulyman and Fatimoh Ajetunmobi.

Sulyman (popularly called Iya Tawa) was crushed to death while Ajetunmobi was said to have been rushed to a hospital.

Punch  correspondent, who arrived at the scene of the incident at about 8.50am – 20 minutes after the crash – saw security officials and other sympathisers around the corpse of Sulyman who was in a pool of blood. The road was also littered with debris said to have been packed by the victims.

While men of the Federal Road Safety Corps and Lagos State Transport Management Agency moved the corpse to a morgue, her co-workers lamented her untimely death.

One of the workers, who declined to give her name, said Iya Tawa, an indigene of Abeokuta in Ogun State, had promised to resign from the job in December and set up a business, adding that she was the one taking care of her parents.

“She was the one who took care of her parents. She told me about her plan to leave this job by December and start her own business with the money her husband gave her. I told her to quit immediately but she said she wanted to wait till they moved to her husband’s house. We don’t pray for this, God. This is a great loss,” she said in tears.

An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Kunle, described Ajetunmobi’s condition as unfortunate 

“My brother, it was a terrible Monday. I work around here. There was blood everywhere. The other woman was discharging substance from her private parts while they were taking her to a hospital.”

The LAWMA General Manager, Mr. Ola Oresanya, said the workers were just resuming for work when the accident happened.

He said they were making efforts to track down the driver, adding that Ajetunmobi was responding to treatment.

He said, “It happened just as they resumed for work. It was unfortunate that we lost a worker to the accident. The other woman is responding to treatment in the hospital.

“The number plate has been handed over to the police and we are making efforts to ensure that the driver is arrested.”