Eight people have lost their lives in separate accidents on Eko Bridge, Lagos Island, and Eleko Bus Stop, Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos State.
Our correspondent learnt that the first accident, which happened on Saturday, claimed the lives of an Uber driver and his three passengers.
It was gathered that the victims, who were in a Toyota Camry, were plying the Eko Bridge to navigate to their destination when the driver of a Lexus 300, Yusuf Ambali, lost control of his vehicle and rammed into the Camry.
The impact of the collision, which damaged both vehicles, killed all four occupants of the Camry.
However, Ambali was said to have escaped death by a whisker.
Our correspondent was told that the mangled remains of the victims, consisting of three men and one woman, were trapped in the e-hailing car.
Emergency responders, who stormed the scene of the tragedy, were seen using equipment to pierce through the vehicle to recover the bodies.
The accident affected vehicular movement on the bridge, as traffic officials had a tough time managing the situation.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the crash was caused by reckless driving.
He said, “Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, it was observed that a Toyota Camry with number plate EPE- 583 GT, was involved in an accident with a Lexus car.
“The accident occurred as a result of reckless driving. Unfortunately, four occupants of the Toyota Camry died as a result of the impact of the collision.
“Extrication of the commodities was done by the Cobra team with the aid of the agency’s light rescue equipment, while Lagos State Traffic Management Authority officials and police officers controlled the traffic as well as the crowd.
“The dead people were bagged and handed over to the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit officials, while the affected vehicles were taken off the road with the aid of the agency’s light tow truck and handed over to Iporin Divisional Traffic Officer, thereby restoring normalcy on the road.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the driver responsible for the accident had been arrested, adding that efforts were on to identify the victims.
He said, “The accident involved a Lexus 300 with number plate SMK 478 AV, driven by one Yusuf Ambali and a Toyota Camry, with number plate, EPE- 583 GT.
“The Lexus was coming from Costain and heading towards Lagos, but lost control, went over the culvert and rammed into the Toyota Camry that was heading towards Costain. All occupants of the Toyota Camry died on the spot.
“The Toyota Camry has been confirmed to be a Uber vehicle, so the driver was a Uber driver. But the identities of the occupants are yet to be confirmed because they had no identity cards and their phones were smashed.
“The only phone that wasn’t smashed is with the police and we have been waiting for a call to come in because the phone is an iPhone and was locked. But if nobody calls, we will do a forensic analysis on the phone to get a lead to ascertain the identity of the owner of the phone. The driver is in our custody and the two vehicles are also at the Iponri Police Station.”
In the second accident, four men lost their lives after a petrol-laden tanker collided with a Dangote truck around Eleko Bus-Stop, along the Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos State.
The LASEMA boss, Oke-Osanyintolu, said the collision resulted in an inferno which burnt the four victims, who were trapped underneath the tanker.
He said, “Upon arrival at the scene of the tanker accident at Eleko Bus-Stop inward Epe, it was discovered that a tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of PMS collided with a Dangote Plc branded truck. The impact of the collision resulted in an inferno.
“Unfortunately, four adult males lost their lives as a result of the fire and their bodies were trapped underneath the upturned tanker.” – Punch.
