Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
Five people have lost their lives following a fatal road accident involving a Toyota Camry and an Iveco truck on the Badagry Expressway in Lagos State.
The crash occurred in the early hours of Saturday at Sawmill near Mowo Bus Stop, prompting an emergency response from relevant agencies.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said it received a distress call at about 5:16 a.m. and immediately deployed its Dolphin Team from the Igando Base to the scene.
According to a statement by the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, preliminary findings indicated that the accident was caused by excessive speed and reckless driving by the driver of the Toyota Camry.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident was caused by over-speeding and reckless driving on the part of the Toyota Camry driver. The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, veered into the opposite lane and had a head-on collision with the oncoming Iveco truck,” the statement read.
LASEMA said all five occupants of the Toyota Camry, identified as adult males, died from injuries sustained in the collision.
“Regrettably, the impact of the collision resulted in the death of five adult males who were occupants of the Toyota Camry. The remains of the victims were carefully recovered, bagged with dignity, and handed over to officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps for further necessary action,” the agency stated.
Emergency responders at the scene included officials of LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, the Federal Road Safety Corps and officers of the Nigeria Police Force from the Morogbo Division.
Authorities deployed two tow trucks to remove the damaged vehicles from the expressway, while the wreckage was taken to the Morogbo Police Division.
The road was subsequently cleared and reopened to motorists after the recovery operation.
Oke-Osanyintolu expressed condolences to the families of the victims and urged motorists to avoid speeding, dangerous overtaking and other reckless driving habits, stressing the importance of road safety, particularly during early morning travel.
