Otedola Bridge horror: Three dead after violent Audi–Truck crash

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Three people were confirmed dead and two others seriously injured following a road traffic collision on Otedola Bridge inward Berger on Wednesday morning, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has said.

The deceased included two adult women and a child.

In a preliminary report by LASEMA’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the agency said it received distress alerts on its “767/112 Toll Free Emergency Lines at 0655hours” and immediately “activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans from the Command and Control Centre, Alausa, Ikeja.”

LASEMA’s response team, the report stated, arrived at the scene by 0700hours and found that “a car travelling towards Berger on Otedola bridge collided with a truck near the Otedola bridge.”

The agency identified the car as a Volkswagen Audi with registration number “YAB 742 CN” and said it “crashed into the rear of a slow-moving truck.”

Describing the damage, the report said the Audi suffered extensive deformation and was “a complete write-off,” while the truck “was driven off the incident scene immediately.”

On the cause, Oke-Osanyintolu said: “The immediate cause of the incident was due to unsafe attempts by the driver of the Volkswagen Audi car to overtake the slow moving truck, which resulted in the accident along the bridge carriageway.”

Five occupants were involved in the crash. According to the report, “3 mortalities (2 female adults, and 1 child) were recorded,” while “Two adults (male and female victims), sustained severe injuries.”

The injured were attended to by LASEMA and partner ambulances, including LRU and FRSC units, and taken to the Trauma Centre for further care.

LASEMA said its team “conducted appropriate Risk Assessment of the incident scene and activated necessary Safety and Control Measures to curtail secondary incidents,” and that collaborative response efforts were coordinated to ensure a swift operation.

The agency confirmed that the recovered items from the wreckage “have been handed over to officials of the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, SEHMU, for further processing,” that the affected vehicle “has been successfully recovered off the bridge,” and that “normal traffic activities has been restored for a free and safe flow of vehicular movement.”

Oke-Osanyintolu added that the “Recovery Operation has been concluded.”

Responding agencies on site included the LASEMA Response Team-Command and Control Centre, LRU Ambulance, LASAMBUS, LASTMA, the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Police Force.