A police officer and three others were killed, while several others sustained injuries, in a multiple-vehicle crash involving five articulated trucks on Kara Bridge, inward Mowe, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday.
Moshood Jimoh, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, verified the tragedy on Thursday during a visit to the area, saying emergency response teams worked through the early hours to rescue casualties and clean the wreckage.
“We have a case of multiple accidents at the border between Ogun and Lagos State. Five vehicles were involved, all articulated vehicles. Precisely, three people have been rescued from the scene of the accident.
“As early as 5 a.m., we have been on it, and we have other agencies here assisting us. We have LASTMA, the Road Safety Corps, and other security agencies,” Ishola said.
He explained that preliminary investigations revealed that the incident was caused by a trailer’s braking failure.
“At the beginning, we had a trailer that failed to brake, and it is important that everybody in charge of their vehicle ensures proper maintenance,” he stated.
The commissioner also announced the death of one of his officers who was part of the police advance team deployed to the scene.
“It’s very unfortunate that we lost one of our police inspectors who came with our advance team to salvage the situation,” he said.
Ishola warned motorists, particularly drivers of articulated vehicles, against reckless driving, which he described as a leading cause of fatal crashes on highways.
“We want road users, especially those driving articulated vehicles, to stop this kind of recklessness. If they are not reckless in their driving habits, we won’t have this kind of accident,” he warned.
Rescue operations involving the police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and other agencies were still ongoing as of press time, while efforts to remove the damaged vehicles and restore traffic flow continued.
