Two injured in Lagos crash, motorists stranded in gridlock

Ten passengers escaped death while two others were injured in a multiple road accident that occurred at the Otedola area towards Berger on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday morning.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the accident that involved three Mac trucks and a bus loaded with passengers occurred around 10am on the expressway.

The Lagos State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr Babatunde Farinloye, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said emergency workers responded promptly to the accident.

Farinloye said, “It’s a multiple accident involving four vehicles. They include three Mac trucks and a Mazda bus. Twelve people were involved and two persons were injured. It’s a serious accident but not fatal.

“The rescue was done by our unit at Ojota in collaboration with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency. The injured victims were taken to the hospital for medical treatment.”

The FRSC commander added that the crash was caused by a mechanic fault in one of the trucks.

“It’s a brake failure of one of the vehicles. That was what led to the multiple crashes. When there is a brake failure, there would be loss of control,” Farinloye explained.

PUNCH Metro reports that the crash caused gridlock on the road for some time as our correspondent observed slow movement on the road leading outward from Lagos to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Parts of two trucks seen at the scene were also severely damaged.

Reacting on Twitter via @followlastma, LASTMA advised motorists to take alternative routes pending the evacuation of the vehicles from the road.

“The traffic is building up fast, backing up as far back as Alausa. Please take alternative routes if heading outside Lagos in the meantime,” the traffic tweeted.