A truck reportedly lost control and climbed over a tricycle conveying four passengers at Okegbegun, along Sagamu Road, Ikorodu, Lagos.
A commuter, Adebayo Olanrewaju, who claimed to have witnessed the incident told The PUNCH that the sad incident occurred around 3pm on Thursday when he was on a bus en route to Ogijo.
He said the truck was ascending a steep portion of the road when it suddenly descended due to brake failure and climbed over the tricycle behind it.
“The bus I boarded was about to reach the spot when the accident happened. The truck was heading towards LASPOTECH (Lagos State Polytechnic) and the tricycle was behind it. The road is bad. There were five people in the tricycle: three passengers at the back, and one in the front with the rider.
“As the truck was climbing the road, it slipped and crushed the tricycle which was too close for the rider to quickly manoeuvre. The truck climbed over all of them. A mini bus was also involved but it was not really affected.
“People rushed the victims to hospitals. When I was going to Ibeshe today (Friday), I heard some okada riders around the spot say that they had buried one of the victims. They said all the people in the tricycle eventually died,” OIanrewaju said.
However, an emergency responder disclosed on Friday that three persons died in the crash.
“Two corpses had been released to the family for burial today (Friday). It was unfortunate,” the source added.
It was learnt that a protest broke out after the crash on Thursday and continued on Friday as commercial transport workers set up a burnfire and blocked the road.
They also blocked all routes leading to the road, leaving passengers to trek long distances.
The State Police Command spokesperson, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed that fatalities were recorded in the crash but did not disclose the figure.
He said, “The truck was carrying palm oil to be delivered to a company in the area. It lost control and ran into a tricycle. We lost some people.”