Two Dead, Policeman, Scores Injured in Ghastly Lagos Accident

By Chiemelie Ezeobi

Two persons were yesterday killed in a series of fatal accidents along the Oshodi Expressway, that also left a policeman and scores of persons with varying degree of injuries. 

The accident caused a heavy gridlock on the busy road which took the combined efforts of emergency workers from the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA), state Fire Service and other agencies including the police to contain it.

At the scene also was the Divisional Police Officer, Ilasa Police Division Police, Titilayo Oriyomi, a Superintendent of Police, who led a team of policemen from the division to evacuate the bodies and clear the road for free flow of traffic.

According to eyewitness account, the first accident happened between a vehicle fully loaded with vegetable oil and another truck carrying gravel.

For reasons yet unknown, the driver of the truck carrying gravel, who was said to have been on high speed, rammed into the other one from the rear, pushing it down. 

While the two drivers were seriously injured, their two motorboys were also trapped before they were rescued by policemen from the Ilasamaja Police Division.

Given that they had spent one hour trapped inside their vehicles, they were in a very bad shape when officials of the Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS) came to take them away.

Meanwhile, the second accident occurred when emergency workers and the policemen from the division were trying to ameliorate the effects of the first accident.

It was gathered that while they were trying to control vehicles on the expressway to ameliorate the traffic build up, another truck coming on high speed rammed into a moving commercial bus.

The driver of the truck, who was said to have disobeyed the hand signals from policemen to slow down, rammed into a  bus and the impact of the collusion made the yellow bus somersault.

While the conductor of the commercial bus and a passenger died on the spot, many of the passengers sustained serious injuries, as well as a policeman on duty who sustained a broken leg.

As at press time, the state fire service had cleaned up the oil spill and free flow of traffic had commenced.