Update: 2 die in truck accident

Two persons died when a truck loaded with boards and plywood tilted on the Ojuelegba Bridge, Surulere, Lagos State late on Tuesday evening.

Two other persons were also injured, according to an update provided by the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr Adesina Tiamiyu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accident occurred at 8.p.m..

Similar accidents had claimed lives in the last three years. In one of the accidents in September 2015, in which three members of the same family died, the relations are pursuing a N10billion compensation suit at the Lagos High Court. Both the Lagos and Federal governments, along with the owners of the truck, are defendants in the case.

Tiamiyu spoke with newsmen at the scene of the accident; as remnants of the plywood were being cleared to ease vehicular movement in the area.

“A flat bed truck laden with plywood and finished boards tilted on top of Ojuelegba bridge and fell on three commercial buses and a Toyota Corolla Camry.

“Unfortunately, two people died while two other people sustained injuries but what we are doing now is recovery.

“We have removed the vehicles from the road and we have also taken the trucks off the bridge.

“We are now trying to clear the remnants of the plywood at Ojuelegba under-bridge and the top of the bridge.

“That vehicle was definitely overloaded and that was what I think caused the accident, " Tiamiyu said.

He, however, urged commercial drivers to park at designated bus-stops and to stop parking indiscriminately.

Tiamiyu said: “If the buses were not parked indiscriminately, the accident would not claim lives.

“Commercial drivers should not turn Ojuelegba into a bus-stop.

“Let’s have free drive under Ojuelegba Bridge. ”