A police officer on a motorcycle was killed when a truck collided with multiple vehicles along the Kara Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday.
Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the incident in a statement. He reported that the officer became trapped under one of the vehicles after a series of crashes involving three vehicles.
According to Oke-Osanyintolu, the accident occurred when the truck collided with a moving bus, which caused the truck to veer off the road and crash into another bus parked nearby.
The victim was identified as an officer from the Mopol 20 Division of the Nigeria Police Force.
He stated, “Upon the arrival of the LASEMA Response Team at the scene, it discovered a Volvo truck, registration number FKJ 484 YA, laden with goods heading towards Arepo, a Toyota Hiace bus, registration number BWR 371 XC, and a Mercedes bus, registration number unknown, were involved in the accident.
“Investigations conducted by the LRT revealed that the truck crashed into a Mercedes Benz bus while in motion, swerved off the road, and fell uncontrollably onto a Toyota Hiace bus parked by the roadside.
“A police officer attached to Mopol 20 Division, manoeuvring his way back to the office on his motorcycle, got trapped by the incident and died instantly.”
He continued that the body of the victim and the vehicles involved were recovered by the agency’s response team and handed over to police operatives from the Ojodu Division for further action.
“The body was extricated using the agency’s heavy-duty equipment, the Super Metro, bagged, and taken to Ojodu Police Station for further processing.
“The ill-fated truck was recovered using the agency’s sophisticated heavy-duty equipment, the Super Metro, to a lay-by. The Toyota Hiace bus was also recovered and towed to Ojodu Police Station.”
Meanwhile, the accident caused heavy gridlock along the route as motorists were stranded for several hours.
The Commandant of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Seni Ogunyemi, disclosed in a traffic update that the accident affected traffic flow on the bridge.
“A report of a multiple RTA at Kara Bridge outbound on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway indicates that traffic was partially affected. TRACE and the police are on the ground making efforts to evacuate the affected vehicles and manage the traffic,” Ogunyemi stated.
