No fewer than 22 persons narrowly escaped death when a truck conveying cows and 23 other persons crashed into the median on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday.
One person was reported dead, while five others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the lone crash, which took place around the Fidiwo area of the expressway.
The spokesperson for the Ogun State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Florence Okpe, confirmed this to PUNCH Metro in a telephone conversation on Tuesday.
According to Okpe, the accident occurred when the tyre of the vehicle burst in motion, leading to a collision with the median.
She added that the 23 persons involved in the accident were all males.
Okpe said, “Twenty-three persons involved, all male, five injured and one person killed. It was a lone crash involving a truck.
“The cause of the crash was a tyre burst and speeding.”
Giving a further update on the accident, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi, disclosed that the accident occurred around 7am.
He stressed that the tyre burst led to a loss of control, eventually resulting in the lone crash.
Akinbiyi added, “The injured victims were taken to Victory Hospital, Ogere by FRSC, while TRACE operatives were controlling traffic to ease the free movement of other motorists.
“Traffic was affected initially, but normalcy has been restored on the expressway as the accident truck loaded with cows has been towed away from the road to Papa Oscar’s cage, Ishara MTD.”
Meanwhile, the FRSC spokesperson warned motorists against speeding on the expressway to prevent road crashes.
“Motorists are advised always to drive with caution on the expressway to prevent needless loss of lives,” Okpe said.
PUNCH Metro reported on February 17 that three persons lost their lives in an early-hour accident around Mowe on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The accident was attributed to a container that fell off a truck with the number plate T-1563 LA and trapped the three victims said to be occupants of a Howo truck without a number plate.
The crash, according to a statement issued by Okpe, was caused by dangerous driving leading to a loss of control.
