35 persons have been reported to have escaped death in series of crashes on Lagos-Ibadan expressway which involved a tanker loaded with fuel and five other cars at Warewa end in Ogun State.
1. Vehicles involved in multiple accidents
From the reports Naijauto gathered, the vehicles affected include,
- A green Toyota, number plate - SD 513 EZ
- A black Honda Pilot, number plate - KSF 774 BE
- A black Nissan Rogue, number plate - EKY 254 FQ
- A black Kia vehicle,number plate - EPE 60 CZ
- A yellow Mazda commercial bus service and number plate as EKY 25
- A wine DAF tanker, number plate - KEF 211 ZD
Reports said the unidentified tanker driver was unable to control the tanker after the brake failed.
While the driver was struggling to control the tanker, mild traffic has built up resulting in vehicles queuing up behind one another, at Warewa bus stop. To this, the fuel tanker crushed five cars stuck in the traffic.
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2. Narrations from witnesses & FRSC
One of the drivers whose car was hit, Emmanuel Opara, stated that he was driving the mother of his boss to Abeokuta when the incident happened.
He said,
"I was conveying my boss’ mother to Abeokuta, but when we got to Warewa, some military men, who were controlling vehicular movement at the junction, told us to stop for other vehicles to pass.
But when the military men asked us to move, the tanker came from behind and hit all the vehicles in its front, including the one I was driving."
A prophet identified as Akin Adekotujo said, the FRSC officials and the policemen at the Ogun State Police Command pursued the tanker driver, caught him followed by an arrest and impoundment of his tanker.
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Luckily, there's no fatality recorded this time
Another driver, Ayoola Shakiru, whose car was also affected said he had seven passengers inside his car, heading to Sagamu.
He stated,
"My vehicle was the last to be crushed; the tanker had crushed about four vehicles before mine. I had to summon courage to turn the steering wheel in order to save the passengers I was conveying to Sagamu."
A passenger who wanted to remain anonymous implored the government to ban tankers from moving on the road at day time to avoid a reoccurrence of the accident.
The FRSC, Ogun State Sector Commander, Clement Oladele, while confirming the accident, pointed out that the accident which involved 35 people was due to brake failure and high speeding of the tanker driver.
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Lagos Ibadan expressway has witnessed various multiple accidents
Oladele said,
"The accident occurred on Thursday, June 27, 2019, around 12.45pm on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway around Warewa. Thirty-five people made up of 19 males and 16 females were involved. There was no death or injuries from the multiple crashes.
The suspected causes of the accident were brake failure and excessive speeding inappropriate for that road, which is currently undergoing rehabilitation. Motorists, especially truck and other articulated vehicle drivers, should desist from driving malfunctioning vehicles on the road, and the maximum speed should not be more than 50km per hour.
Motorists should not tailgate as following closely the vehicle ahead of you impedes the ability to stop your vehicle from ramming into the vehicle ahead in the case of an emergency. The tanker that caused the crash due to a malfunctioning braking system has been impounded and the obstructions cleared for normal traffic."
We also agree with the FRSC Ogun Sector Commander on the issue of drivers tailgating. They should learn to give some distance to the car in front of them in case an emergency arises just as it happened with the multiple crashes. On the other hand, car parts inspection should be carried out regularly to ensure the safety of the driver and passengers.
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