By Peter Dansu The young female hawker who was struck by a speeding car at Mowo Bus Stop along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, earlier repo...
By Peter Dansu
The young female hawker who was struck by a speeding car at Mowo Bus Stop along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, earlier reported by Badagry Today, has sadly died from her injuries at the Badagry General Hospital.
The girl, believed to be around 10 years old and a resident of the Atinplome area in Olorunda Local Council Development Area of Badagry, was confirmed dead this evening, a family source told Badagry Today, barely a few hours after the accident that drew outrage from local residents and reignited calls for urgent pedestrian safety measures in the area.
She had been hawking oguso, a traditional fire inflator, and brooms when she was hit by a Toyota Camry while attempting to cross the expressway on Monday evening. Witnesses described the vehicle as moving at high speed from the Lagos direction when it struck the child who was trying to reach the other side of the road.
“She was just a little girl, doing what so many children around here do to survive,” said, a resident of the area who witnessed the incident. “We all prayed she would make it, but her injuries were just too severe.”
Related News: Child Hawker in Critical Condition After Car Crash at Mowo - Residents Renew Calls for Pedestrian Bridge
Badagry Today later learned reliably that she was confirmed dead by health workers at Badagry General Hospital a few minutes after men of the Nigeria Road Safety Corps brought her to the hospital for urgent medical attention.
The news of her death has sent fresh waves of grief and frustration through Mowo and neighboring communities, where residents say this tragedy could — and should — have been avoided.
“This isn’t the first time. And if nothing is done, it won’t be the last,” said Mr. Kehinde Ajose, a prominent community voice who has long championed the call for a pedestrian bridge at the Mowo junction. “We have cried, protested, and written letters. What more do we have to do before the government listens?”
The Lagos-Badagry Expressway, one of the busiest transit corridors in the state, has been under reconstruction for years. While parts of the road have been upgraded, residents argue that essential safety infrastructure — especially pedestrian bridges — has been neglected in densely populated areas like Mowo, where traders, schoolchildren, and the elderly frequently cross.
“This little girl’s death should not be in vain,” said another resident, Mr. Kolawole Adebayo. “She deserved a chance at life. If there was a pedestrian bridge here, she would be alive today.”
Locals are now renewing calls on both the Lagos State Government and federal authorities to urgently intervene by constructing a pedestrian bridge at Mowo Bus Stop and other high-risk crossings along the expressway.
“This community is grieving,” said Mrs. Ogun. “But more than that, we are demanding change. No child should die because they’re trying to cross the road.”
As family members, residents, and concerned citizens mourn the loss of yet another innocent life, the tragedy serves as a grim reminder of the high cost of inaction — and the urgent need for safer, people-centered infrastructure across Nigeria’s highways.
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