Truck crushes 14 cars, kills five

Blood flowed this morning, at Alapere Junction, on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, when a truck loaded with several bags of flour summersaulted, crushing about 14 cars in the process.

P.M.NEWS gathered from eyeswitnesses on the spot that at least five persons were killed and many people sustained injuries as a result of the multiple accident that occurred at about 6.30 a.m.  The eyewitness, however, could not ascertain whether the truck with registration number SQ 83 LND was on its way to Lagos or Ibadan. But the bags of flour littered the accident spot.

The identification of most vehicles involved in the crash could not be done, but two of them were conspicuous. They are a Toyota car marked LN 323 AAA with the colours of a new generation bank. Also identifiable is a Toyota Avensis with registration number DB 457 LSD. Before P.M.NEWS left the scene of the accident, policemen from the Alapere police station  had arrived the spot and were trying to tow the damaged vehicles to ease the traffic gridlock on the expressway and adjoining roads.

Similarly, men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) had also started rescue operations. They were seen carrying the injured victims to the hospital and taking the dead to the mortuary. Three weeks ago, a diesel tanker crashed into a big lorry on LASU-Isheri Road, Obadore. The lorry escaped while the truck fell over a car. The spilled diesel in the tanker ignited fire, resulting in the death of a LASU graduate identified as Tessy. She was operating a business centre in a shop along the road.

Before a combination of youths in Obadore and men of the Lagos State Fire and Safety Services could suceed in putting the inferno under control, 60 shops were completely razed down. Also, on Wednesday, last week, one person was feared killed and many other commuters seriously injured when a trailer marked Abuja XDA 247 RSH ran into some commuter buses at the Cele bus stop on Oshodi-Mile 2 expressway. The accident led to a serious traffic jam on the expressway before policemen from the Okota police station moved in to restore normalcy.