Eight die in Lagos crashes, police await call to victim’s locked phone

Eight people have lost their lives in separate accidents on Eko Bridge, Lagos Island, and Eleko Bus Stop, Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos State.

Our correspondent learnt that the first accident, which happened on Saturday, claimed the lives of an Uber driver and his three passengers.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the victims, who were in a Toyota Camry, were plying the Eko Bridge to navigate to their destination when the driver of a Lexus 300, Yusuf Ambali, lost control of his vehicle and rammed into the Camry.

The impact of the collision, which damaged both vehicles, killed all four occupants of the Camry.

However, Ambali was said to have escaped death by a whisker.

Our correspondent was told that the mangled remains of the victims, consisting of three men and one woman, were trapped in the e-hailing car.

Emergency responders, who stormed the scene of the tragedy, were seen using equipment to pierce through the vehicle to recover the bodies.

The accident affected vehicular movement on the bridge, as traffic officials had a tough time managing the situation.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the crash was caused by reckless driving.

READ ALSO:

• Wike Declares For Presidency, Says ‘I’ve Capacity To Remove APC’
• Presidency Defends Ex-PDP Members In APC Exco
• Sit-at-home: Soludo Orders Schools, Banks, Shops, Parks to Open on Mondays

He said, “Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, it was observed that a Toyota Camry with number plate EPE- 583 GT, was involved in an accident with a Lexus car.

“The accident occurred as a result of reckless driving. Unfortunately, four occupants of the Toyota Camry died as a result of the impact of the collision.

“Extrication of the commodities was done by the Cobra team with the aid of the agency’s light rescue equipment, while Lagos State Traffic Management Authority officials and police officers controlled the traffic as well as the crowd.

“The dead people were bagged and handed over to the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit officials, while the affected vehicles were taken off the road with the aid of the agency’s light tow truck and handed over to Iporin Divisional Traffic Officer, thereby restoring normalcy on the road.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the driver responsible for the accident had been arrested, adding that efforts were on to identify the victims.