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Police have disclosed that the driver of the Lagos State staff bus crushed by a train at PWD level crossing, in Shogunle area of Ikeja, on Thursday, will be subjected to psychiatric and drug tests.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner of Police in charge of Railway Command, CP Yetunde Longe, according to media reports.
She said, “We handed the driver over to doctors for medical examination, because there was a flag officer at the railway crossing flagging him down, but he refused to stop. That’s why we must subject him to a thorough medical examination.
“As a driver, this is one of the tests you have to take note of because when you get to a level crossing, a train operator will be honking to get people aware that a train is approaching. Drivers should ensure they are patient for the train to pass.
“His blood sample has been taken and we await the result.”
Survivors of the accident, in which six people lost their lives and 84 others sustained varying degrees of injury, have blamed it on the recklessness of the driver, whose name has been given as Remi Osibanjo.
They claimed the 44-year-old driver had his earpiece on while driving and ignored the directive of the flag officers at the level crossing.
The driver, who is being held at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), in Yaba, however, blamed the accident on mechanical fault.
According to Vanguard, he was overheard telling some of his relatives, who visited him him at the SCIID, that the bus had suddenly developed a mechanical fault while on the rail track.
Osinbajo, who maintained that the accident was not his fault, however, begged families of the victims to forgive him.
“It was not my fault. How could I have ignored warning signs? The bus had a mechanical fault. It is a pity this has happened. I beg everyone affected to please forgive me in the name of God,” he reportedly said.
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