Sophia Michaels
Eight persons escaped death by a whisker while two others sustained varying injuries as a trailer conveying vehicles rammed into three other vehicles along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Wednesday.
The accident which occurred on the Sagamu-Interchange stretch of the Lagos Ibadan expressway, involved four vehicles including one truck, two Toyota Hiace buses, and one Toyota Jeep.
It was gathered that a truck conveying cows reportedly lost control and collided with the vehicle in front resulting in multiple collisions.
During a visit to the accident scene, our correspondent observed that the four vehicles were damaged. The damages include a broken windscreen and a damaged bonnet.
An eyewitness, Azeez Olayiwola, blamed the accident on a lack of concentration on the part of the truck driver.
He said, “I think the truck driver was unaware that there is traffic gridlock in front and was unable to control the speed of the vehicle when he realised there was traffic resulting in multiple collisions.”
Confirming the accident, the Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Ogun State Command, Ahmed Umar, noted that four vehicles were involved in the collision and eight persons were involved, adding that two of the people sustained injuries.
He stated further that the injured persons have been taken to hospital for treatment.
Umar said, “I can confirm that four vehicles were involved in an accident in the early hours of today which involved eight persons. Among the eight persons, two were injured and have been taken to the hospital for immediate treatment.”
It was also observed that motorists coming from Lagos to Abeokuta as well as those coming from Abeokuta to Lagos were stranded in the traffic jam for about six hours along the Mowe-Redeemed and Sagamu-Interchange to Redeemed stretch of the highway.
In his reaction to the cause of the traffic jam that lasted several hours, Umar noted that a vehicle conveying petroleum products fell along the Redeemed axis on Tuesday evening.
He said, “The traffic on the highway was a result of a vehicle conveying diesel fuel that fell on the road but we have been able to evacuate it. What we are experiencing is a backlog of the incident.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the police proved abortive as the Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, did not respond to messages sent to her number.
