Barely 72 hours after hosting a successful traditional marriage in Nnewi, Anambra State, a family of five were involve in a multiple road crashes that occurred yesterdayin Ikorodu, Lagos.
The family of five, who were travelling in a Peugeot 406 marked MUS 300 CP and 21 others, who were occupants of five other vehicles, were almost ran over by a trailer marked JJJ 938 XL around 3.15pm at Agric bus stop in Ikorodu.
The driver of the trailer was said to have lost control following a brake failure.
One of the familyof five, who was among three persons injured in the accident, was taken to Ikorodu General Hospital by officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
Attempts by the trailer driver and his motor boy to run were thwarted by people in the area who arrested them and handed them over to the police.
The Nation learnt that they were taken to Agric-Owutu Police Station, Ikorodu.
The other vehicles which were damaged by the trailer included: a Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) marked BDG 545 DL, a Honda car marked DV 403 LSR, a Mazda 626 salon car marked KRD 729 AM and an 18-seater passenger bus belonging to the Young Shall Grow transport company, Code 954 and marked LND 756 XL.
The navy-blue Peugeot 406 in which the family of five was travelling was damaged.
The trailer, which was coming from the garage roundabout in Ikorudu, was said to have first ran into the passenger bus from the back and forcefully pushed it over the median into BRT corridor, before crushing the Peugeot 406 and the SUV.
The accident caused traffic gridlock from the two ends of the road, including the BRT corridor for several hours, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at garage and AgricBus Stop on IkoroduRoad.
The driver of the Peugeot, Mr Ugochukwu Okonkwo, who lives in Surulere, said he was coming from Nnewi with his late elder brother’s wife and son, who reside in FESTAC Town, his elder sister’s son and a nephew, from the traditional marriage of his late brother’s daughter which held last Wednesday.
He said the traffic gridlock on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway forced them to take the Ikorodu route.
Okonkwo recalled: “We were inside the car, the glass was wound up because the air condition was on and we were thanking God for bringing us safely back to Lagos from Nnewi.
“Suddenly, we heard the braking sound of a vehicle behind us and before we knew it, we saw the trailer coming at us and rammed into our vehicle from the rear. I saw my elder brother’s wife and her son, a 12-year-oldboy, who were sitting in the back seat, about flying out through the windscreen. Though, I was still strapped to my seat behind the steering but something propelled me and I grabbed both of them and pulled them back into the car.
“The way the trailer crashed into us, our car could have gone under a luxurious bus in front us but it didn’t because of the other car hit by the trailer. It was a miracle. I don’t know how it happened. I think God did it for us”, he said, adding that his elder brother’s wife, who had minor injury, was treated at Ikorodu General Hospital.
The SUVdriver, Mr. TunjiAyeni, said the trailer rammed into his car barely three minutes that he joined the road from his street.
“All I can say is that I just heard this crushing sound and I looked back and saw the trailer coming at me. I thank God that I survive”, he said.
Mr. John Udegbunah, who drove the luxury bus said they departed Onitsha around 10am yesterday and that the journey was smooth until they got to Agric in Ikorodu.
“We were moving slowly in traffic snarl when suddenly we heard the trailer hitting our bus. The trailer continued pushing us until we went over the median into the BRT corridor. I thank God nobody died. But a lady was injured in the hand but she has left”, he said.
Another victim, Mr. Obi Oluchukwu, who was seen massaging his right shoulder and arm, said he was answering a call on his phone when the trailer hit their bus from the rear.
