At least six persons, among them four policemen, lost their lives yesterday while several others were injured in an auto accident involving eight vehicles. A witness said the accident occurred about 7am when a trailer carrying cement, which had a break problem, rammed into seven vehicles parked by the roadside. Four of the policemen stationed at the Tollgate and some traders by the roadside died when the truck ran them over.
The vehicles are Ford bus marked BDJ 413 XA, Ford bus with registration number FST 75 XA, Ford bus marked AAA 688 XA, Volkswagen bus marked APP 827 XF and Volkswagen bus with registration number EKY 488 XM. Others are RRS patrol van (a Toyota Hilux pick-up), Mazda car marked SMK 892 CB and Sinotruk trailer.
The witness said all vehicles crashed into the nearby river. Another witness, Mr Adeyemi John, told our correspondent that there ought not to be a motor park at the Tollgate. He said: “A motor park should be constructed in a designated area to reduce traffic and rate of accidents. This is not the first time such fatal accidents had occurred at this spot.
“At this tollgate, many of the articulated vehicles, whenever they are descending the hill that links the expressway, they always experience brake failure and cause a lot of damage. The road is in poor condition; we have been appealing to the government to do something about the road.”
The Assistant Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Sango Unit Command, Leye Adegboyega, listed those who died to include Richard, Kazeem and Oloyede Tunde. According to him, one Blackberry, one Alcatel and two Nokia phones, N65,850 cash and ATM cards were recovered from the victims.
When our correspondent visited the scene, policemen, officials of FRSC and those of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) were on ground controlling traffic.
