Eniola Yekini
Three women have been killed while 10 others sustained varying degrees of injuries after a vehicle plunged from the Long Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and fell into a ditch.
The crash occurred around 5:24pm on Friday near Mikano on the Long Bridge, inward Lagos, according to the spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Babatunde Akinbiyi.
Akinbiyi, in a statement, said three vehicles were involved in the accident. They were a white Toyota bus with registration number KJA 247 YM, a white Toyota Corolla marked BDG 867 HG and a white Mazda bus with registration number AGL 891 XX.
He said 16 people, comprising 12 males and four females, were involved in the crash, while 10 people, nine males and one female, sustained injuries.
Akinbiyi said three female adults died in the crash, adding that eyewitnesses attributed the accident to excessive speeding and loss of control.
“According to eyewitness accounts, excessive speeding and loss of control caused the vehicle to somersault into the ditch,” he stated.
Rescue teams from TRACE, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the police and the Ogun State Ambulance and Emergency Service responded to the scene and evacuated victims.
According to Akinbiyi, six injured passengers were taken to the Lagos State Accident and Emergency Service by the Ogun State Ambulance and Emergency Service, while one injured victim and a presumed dead victim were evacuated by an FRSC ambulance.
Two of the deceased victims were deposited at the General Hospital, Ifo, morgue, while another presumed dead victim was deposited at the Idera Hospital morgue in Sagamu.
The TRACE spokesperson said the vehicle that plunged into the ditch had been recovered and moved to the Warewa Police Station alongside the other vehicles involved in the crash for further investigation.
He added that the accident affected traffic flow during the evacuation operation, but normal traffic movement was restored after the evacuation.
The latest incident comes days after another fatal crash was reported along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It will be recalled that on August 25 that seven people were killed while two others sustained injuries in a multiple road crash involving three vehicles around the Kara area of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The Ogun State Sector Command of the FRSC had said the crash occurred around 12:03am and involved a white HOWO CNG/CIMC ENRIC truck, a white MACK trailer and a Mitsubishi Canter with registration number JJJ920YA.