A police officer on duty has died in a road accident reportedly caused by a speeding truck belonging to the Dangote Cement factory in Ogun State.
Five other persons were injured in the crash around Saiten Petrol Station along the Abeokuta-Lagos highway on Tuesday night.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Wednesday, said that nine vehicles were involved in the crash, including the Dangote truck, a tipper, a yellow bus, an armoured tank, a Toyota RAV4 and three motorcycles.
The FRSC spokesman in Ogun State, Florence Okpe, explained that eight persons – seven male adults and one female adult – were involved in the crash.
Okpe said four male adults and one female adult were injured, adding that “one person was killed, while two were unhurt.”
She blamed the crash on speeding and wrongful overtaking by the Dangote truck driver, who she said lost control and crashed into other vehicles from the rear.
She explained that the Dangote truck later plunged into the river.
According to her, the Toyota RAV4 car went up in flames due to the impact of the collision, stating that the fire was extinguished with the help of the filling station’s fire extinguisher, but some motorcycles were burnt.
“The injured victims were taken to the General Hospital in Ota for medical attention.
“One person identified as the police officer, who was on duty, got injured and was also taken to the hospital by the FRSC rescue team, but he later died,” Okpe stated.
Meanwhile, the Sector Commander of the FRSC in Ogun, Ahmed Umar, sympathised with the victims’ families, advising motorists to always obey traffic rules.