Four die, others injured as truck falls on expressway

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

Four traders died on Thursday and four others were injured as an accident occurred at the pipeline junction of Ogere Remo corridor of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

The crash, which occurred around 4:30am, involved a truck marked TKP 653 XA, loaded with yam tubers.

It also carried 14 people believed to be traders from the North. They were heading for Lagos.

Eyewitnesses said the speeding truck ran into the road median following poor visibility, lost control and skidded off, before it fell on the road – with the tubers of yam and a side of the truck pinning the traders to the ground.

Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) spokesman Babatunde Akinbiyi, who confirmed the accident, said that the deceased were evacuated to FOS mortuary, Ipara Remo, while the injured were taken to Idera Hospital, Sagamu.

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He said: “We learnt that the vehicle was coming from the North, heading for Lagos and loaded with yam. The casualty was much because some of the passengers, who were likely to be owners of the yam, were sitting on the tubers of yam in the open space at the back, thus when it lost control due to over-speeding and poor visibility, it fell by its side, with the yam and vehicle falling on them.

“The vehicle has been towed to the Police Motor Traffic Division, Iperu. The driver was among the injured.

“While TRACE commiserates with the families of the dead and injured, motorists are advised to maintain their vehicle very well, avoid over-speeding and night travel if possible, especially now that that the harmattan is here, causing poor visibility.”