A United Kingdom-based Nigerian who recently returned to the country was the victim of an accident which occurred at Otedola Bridge, Toll gate area of Lagos State, Punch reports.
According to the report, the returnee, who’s name was not given was said to be in company of his 35-year-old younger brother, Oluwole Giwa who had gone to bring him home from the airport.
Unfortunately, Giwa was said to have lost his life in the accident which happened after a the brakes of a 40-foot trailer failed. The trailer was said to have run into about 10 vehicles which as a result of the gridloick that had formed on the road owing to the recent scarcity of fuel.
Confirming the incident, an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said: “The accident happened in the early hours of Saturday. The trailer, with number plate, FKJ 519 CF, was heading towards Berger. Its brake suddenly failed.
“It tried to hit the median, but it could not hold the truck, so it rammed into a queue of motorists waiting to buy fuel at a filling station.
“It hit 10 vehicles in the queue. But the victims, who were in a blue Toyota Hilux truck, were badly crushed. The driver died on the spot, while the passenger, who happened to be the driver’s brother, escaped with injuries.”
Also commenting on the accident, an official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) availed that the deceased has to be extracted with the aid of a saw owing to the way the vehicle was mangled.
He said: “The two people affected were siblings. The elder brother was coming from the UK, so the younger brother went to pick him from the airport.
“They were heading home when the accident happened. The driver was speeding when the trailer’s brake failed and it rammed into vehicles.
“The victims were badly affected because they were the ones directly in front of the truck. We had to use a saw to cut the vehicle in order to bring out the man that died.”
The UK-returnee was treated at the scene by officials of the Lagos State Ambulance Service at the scene before being transferred to a hospital, while the corpse of the deceased was taken away by men of the Federal Road Safety Corps. The vehicle was later towed away the vehicles to ensure free flow of traffic.
Also confirming the incident was the General Manager of LASEMA, Michael Akindele, who admonished drivers on the need for driving carefully and adhering to precautionary measures before putting vehicles on the road.
Speaking on the incident the spokesperson for LASTMA, Mahmud Hassan, said, “Trailer drivers and indeed all motorists and commercial drivers, should always check the condition of their vehicles before putting them on the road to avert avoidable loss of lives.”
