Olushola Omogbehin
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has confirmed the death of eight people following a multiple-truck collision on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway near Kara Bridge, outward Lagos, on Thursday morning.
Confirming this, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, said during a visit to the scene on Thursday that emergency response teams worked through the early hours to rescue victims and clear the wreckage.
“We have a case of multiple accidents at the border between Ogun and Lagos State. Five vehicles were involved, all articulated vehicles. Precisely, three people have been rescued from the scene of the accident.
“As early as 5 a.m., we have been on it, and we have other agencies here assisting us. We have LASTMA, the Road Safety Corps, and other security agencies,” Ishola said.
The accident which was according to a preliminary investigations was caused by a trailer that lost control because of brake failure claimed the life of a police inspector attached to the Lagos State Police Command.
The police commissioner also confirmed the death of one of his officers who was part of the police advance team deployed to the scene.
“It’s very unfortunate that we lost one of our police inspectors who came with our advance team to salvage the situation,” he said.
According to a witness, a woman driving her children to school crashed into an abandoned Cross-Median at the centre of the Lagos/Sango expressway but her two daughters in the car sustained injuries and were bleeding from the nose and mouth. They were quickly rushed to Ahmadiya hospital, where they are receiving treatment.
“Another truck spilling its contents (cartons of biscuits) on the road, a container-laden truck ran onto the barrier with its carrier falling off the bridge into the river, thereby blocking the entire road at Kara Bridge inward Mowe.”
Confirming the number of victims in the accident, LASTMA said, “Eight casualties recorded,” adding that “Effort is on top gear for recovery and evacuation of the vehicles involved.”
